


Constellations

by Doctorpondin221b



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-14 06:59:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 26
Words: 66,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10531302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doctorpondin221b/pseuds/Doctorpondin221b
Summary: Elara Faye Malfoy is the twin of Draco Lucius Malfoy and they are like the same person. They are misunderstood, considered rude, and they are both Death Eaters. The two have many challenges to face when the people they are in love with are members of the Order of the Phoenix. These people have been forbidden, they could be killed for loving these people. Honestly, they could be tortured and obliterated for loving them.Frankly, they're willing to risk it.





	1. Prologue

It had taken Elara a while to force herself to get up but when she saw Ron and Hermione sitting alone without Harry, she knew where he was. 

She just hoped it wasn't true.

She approached the two slowly. They looked up at her and she could already tell she was not going to like the answer to her question. 

"Where's Harry?" Elara asked. Ron looked at her and shook his head. Hermione just cried. 

"Ronald. Please, where's Harry?" 

"You know where he is El." He replied. 

"I was hoping I was wrong." Elara told them. It took a moment for what Ron told Elara to sink in.  

"Oh my god." Elara muttered, falling backwards onto the stair below her. Ronald looked at her empathetically.

"Elara I'm sorry. I know how much he means to you." Hermione told her. Elara sniffed and wiped away a tear. 

"He meant as much to me as he did to you." Elara smiled sadly. 

"No. He meant more. He was your best friend, no. He was more than that. You spent more time with him then we ever have, you lived with him. Yeah, we were his best friends but you were his sister." 

Elara had tried to keep it together, she had promised Harry she would be strong but she couldn't help the tears streaming down her face. She wanted to scream. She wanted to see Harry again. 

She didn't really know what to do. 

She looked around the great hall, everyone mourning, and then she broke. Sirius looked up from where he had been sitting, looking at Fred's body, with Molly and George. He stood up immediately and made his way over to her. 

"Elara." He murmured sympathetically. He sat on the stair and pulled Elara into his chest. Sirius kissed her forehead and allowed her to sob. 

"He's left us." Elara whispered. 

"What?"

"He's gone. Harry went to the forest, the bastard." Elara sobbed. Sirius looked forward and then he hugged Elara tighter, his sadness overwhelmed by the sound of Elara's sobs. 

She continued until they heard the footsteps. 

A lot of them. 

She followed everyone out of the great hall and onto the courtyard and then squeezed her way to the front of her crowd to see the deatheaters marching towards them. 

She saw Hagrid, carrying Harry. 

"Damn it!" She cried. She stared at Harry. 

"Elara?" Draco called. Elara saw Draco emerge from the great hall and make his way to beside her. He looked forward at Harry's body. He grabbed her hand. 

Draco's heart was breaking, Elara could see it. In fact she could hear it. Draco had tears streaming down his face as he stepped closer and closer to the approaching crowd. Elara's hand hurt from how hard Draco was squeezing it but she didn't dare let go.  

"Tell me it's not him." He said quietly 

"You know I can't do that." Elara responded. 

"He can't be dead. He just can't." Draco was still crying, standing at the front of the crowd. 

Voldemort stepped forward. 

"HARRY POTTER IS DEAD!" 

"NO!" Ginny began to run forward. Elara let go of Draco's hand and caught Ginny. Ginny stared into Elara's eyes. 

"Elara, I already lost Fred. I can't loose another brother. I just can't." Ginny collapsed into Elara's arms. 

"I'm sorry love. I'm so sorry." 

"No." Ginny begged. Elara kissed her forehead and held her as she began to fall. Ginny screamed in response. 

"If you two are done." Bellatrix called. Elara snapped her head towards her. She felt someone grab Ginny and she looked to see George holding her. 

'I'm sorry.' She mouthed at him. He smiled sadly in response. 

'Me too.' George mouthed in response, then he turned his attention to his sister. He held her close

"That bastard" Draco whispered. Elara looked back towards her brother. She couldn't tell if he was talking about Voldemort or Harry. She stared at him for a moment. He looked frozen. 

"Draco?" He turned his head to look at her. His face was dirty and the only clean spots were where the tears streamed down. 

"He's dead." He said. 

Elara nodded her head. 

"Harry is dead." He repeated. He sounded as if he was saying to himself, trying to make sense of his world, crumbling around him. Elara felt his pain, physically. She felt everything he was and it was killing her slowly. 

"Yes. He is." Elara confirmed, tears streaming down her face. Draco looked forward for a moment with a look of disparity before running off to the side and throwing up. Elara went to run to her brother side but she was stopped. 

"ELARA MALFOY!" Elara closed her eyes tight for a moment in an attempt to control her anger and then she opened them and turned her head. She saw Bellatrix looking at her. 

"What?" She said rudely. 

"Listen to your lord." Bellatrix replied. Elara leagues lightly and then turned to face Bella. 

"No offense aunt but my brother is more important to me than your dark lord." She said. Bella gasped 

"How dare you?!" She shrieked. 

"It's alright Bella, our little friend here is just confused. She will follow her path." Voldemort almost smiled. He looked at her forearm and the back at her. She looked down at her arm with disgust. Draco walked back up next her. 

"You're right. I will follow my path, all the way to helping Harry kill you." She said angrily. Then something unexpected happened. 

Voldemort laughed 

Elara was steaming with anger. 

"How dare you laugh!" Draco screamed. "You've murdered thousands of people including the man I love and you have the audacity to stand up there and laugh! If that doesn't show you that you will loose, that fact that you're a heartless monster, then I don't know what will." 

Pause. Elara looked right into Voldemort's eyes. 

"Harry Potter will stop you." Elara finished 

"Harry Potter is dead." Someone spat, ripping Elara's heart in half. She looked over to see Theodore's father staring straight at her, laughing. He was saying it directly to her because he knew how much it hurt. Elara looked back at Theo and saw the look of pure hatred on his face. She smiled sadly at him and he nodded his head in apology.

"Yes. Harry Potter is dead. From now on you will put your faith in me. Anyone who chooses not to join me right now will die. This is your only chance." 

Elara stood still at the front of the crowd. 

"Draco. Elara. Come." Lucius called to them. Both stood still. 

"Come, now" He commanded after a moment of staring at them. They both continued to stand. 

"Now. "  

Elara looked over a Draco, and he seemed to understand exactly what she was asking without her even saying it. He nodded his head. 

"You know what father?" She asked, her head still facing Draco. Draco smiled at her and Elara smiled back. 

She paused and looked back towards Lucius. 

"Bite me." Elara spat simply. Draco grabbed her hand in support. She smiled sadly at him then looked back at the death eaters. They we're all shocked. Neither of the Malfoy children ever disobeyed their father and they certainly were never rude to him. It just didn't make sense. 

Voldemort pulled out his wand. 

"You can do whatever you want but I will never follow you. Harry James Potter was my brother and I love him with all my heart. I'm willing to give up my life for him and I know I'm not alone. Harry has been stopping you since before he was born and him being dead won't stop him. You do whatever you want to you son of a bitch because I will never fight for you." 

Pause. 

She looked at Draco then back at Voldemort. 

"Never." 

He began to say the curse. 

"Stop!" A voice called. Everyone turned to the source to see Neville Longbottom holding a sword. 

"She's right. We're all behind her and we will continue to be until you kill every last one of us. Harry was and still is our chosen one and he will stop you. So, you wanna hurt someone? Hurt me." He told him. Voldemort smiled . 

"Or me." 

Pause. The whole world stopped and Elara felt her tears fall. 

"Harry." Draco said breathlessly. Elara smiled 

"Atta boy." Elara whispered to herself. Voldemort became enraged and Harry ran, Elara following with Draco. 

"Harry!" Draco called. Harry turned and Draco ran full speed at him. They kissed and Harry held Draco. Elara approached slower. Draco and Harry let go, foreheads still touching. 

"You son of a bitch." Elara said. Harry looked at her and smiled. Draco and Harry let go. Elara ran forward and Harry caught her, lifting her. 

"If you ever do that again I swear to god I'll kill you myself." She claimed. Harry smiled. 

"I will never do that again." He told her. Elara smiled at him. 

"Okay. What do I do? Continue trying to find the next horcrucx?" Elara asked, letting go of him. 

"Its Nagini. We have to kill the snake but you need to go to the Great hall. Voldemort won't be happy. We have to protect the people, heal them, do what you're good at. You see Neville, tell him he has to kill the snake with the sword. It's the only way." He told her. Elara nodded. She hugged Harry and then Draco. She kissed his forehead. 

"Be safe." She told them both. They nodded their heads. 

"We'll try." Harry told her. She ran off, the last thing she saw of the two boys she loved most was them kissing. She smiled and then she turned the corner. 

Elara was shooting curses left and right. She was fighting not only for her future brother in law but for the person she loved most in the world. She sprinted into the great hall and looked around for everyone she was worried about. The Weasley's were together and fighting but Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be seen. Elara cursed under her breath and then shot a curse at a death eater she didn't even recognize. 

"Elara!" She heard. She turned. 

"Theo!" She replied. She ran to him. 

"You seen my father?" He asked. She shook her head. "If you do, make sure he pays for what he did to my mother and my sister? I have to go find Daphne and make sure she lives" He requested. 

"Absolutely." She told him. He nodded his head at her. 

"Thank you." He muttered. Elara smiled at him and then he ran off. 

She continued on. She saw Luna fighting Amycus and Elara smirked as Luna sent him spiraling backwards. 

"Luna!" She shouted. Luna looked her way. "You seen Neville?!" 

"No." Luna responded. 

"If you see him, send him my way?" Elara requested. Luna nodded her head. "Thank you, and brilliant stunning charm." Elara complimented.

"Thank you. Not as brilliant as yours." 

And before Elara had a chance to respond, Luna was back to defending the school. 

She ran and looked for Neville but she didn't find him, not before she found someone else. 

"Mr. Nott!" She screamed. He turned his head and smirked. 

"Let me guess, my son asked you to kill me?" 

"No. He asked me to make you pay." She replied smirking. She threw a curse and he dodged it. He backed her into a corner. He began to laugh. 

"Expelliumus" he said. Her wand flew. 

"You stupid little girl." He laughed. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and then smirked. He looked confused. Elara opened her eyes and then his wand flew. 

"I can't believe you thought you would win this when I can preform wandless magic. Why the hell do you think Voldemort made me a deatheater in my fifth year?" Elara asked. She smiled and then she threw him backwards. He flew to another wall and everyone watched, either impressed or afraid. She then lifted him and he felt his lungs begin to contract. He was all the way at the top of the building when she began to talk again. 

"This is for your wife and daughter, you know the ones you tortured to death? The ones that were 42 and 8?" She told him. He took his last breath and then she threw him to the ground. 

Elara took a few deep breaths, almost afraid of what she had just done but then she remembered how he had tortured his wife and daughter for 3 weeks before he killed them. Then she didn't feel bad. She threw her hand out and her wand flew into it. She took two more deep breaths and then went back to fighting. 

And then the curse. 

"You chose the wrong side." Lucius said blankly. Elara knew what was happening. 

"Daddy, please. Don't do this. Fight." Elara begged. 

"You shouldn't have disappointed us!" He replied. He shot her with a curse, then another. 

"I just saw you choke Theodore's father to death. I've done worse to you than he ever would have. Why aren't you fighting back?!" 

"You're my family. I'm not going hurt you to save myself" 

She looked down at the ground and then she dropped her wand. She looked back up into Lucius' eyes

"I'm not going to fight you."

Lucius looked at her. 

"I'm sorry." He said. He was fighting but it was useless. Elara nodded her head and then she quickly looked around the room and saw the red hair she loves so much. 

"WEASLEY!" She screamed. The owner of the red hair turned. 

"I love you so much." Elara said. Elara saw her love running across the Great Hall but she knew that she was doomed. Elara turned and closed her eyes. Lucius took a deep breath and looked at his daughter for the last time. He tried to fight but he couldn't. 

"Sectumsempra!"

And Elara was on the ground.


	2. 5th year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She had been best friends with Ginevra Weasley for three and a half years and she had been in love with her for three of them. The worst part was that her feelings grew stronger the more time she spent with her and she spent all of her time with her. 
> 
> Currently the only time she spent away from her was classes and that almost hurt more than being with her. 
> 
> Elara looked back over towards Ginny and smiled. She was in for it deep. 
> 
> "Fuck"

Draco Malfoy sat on the dock reading a book while his twin sister lied adjacent to him, her head in his lap, looking up at the clouds. She was humming one of the songs her mother used to sing when she and Draco were young. 

"The sun is starting to set, should we go inside?" Draco asked her

"No. I just want to stay a bit longer." Elara said, looking up at him. He nodded his head and then turned back to his book. Elara looked at the picturesque sunset before her. She heard footsteps and turned to see Harry Potter, walking through the entrance of the dock house. Elara sat up and Draco closed his book. 

Harry looked worried but when he saw Draco his face calmed. Elara wondered what had worried him.

"Hey you." Harry smiled, sitting next to Draco.

"Hey." Draco smiled back and then kissed Draco. Elara rolled her eyes. 

Not a moment later Ginevra Weasley walked through the door of the dock house. Elara smiled brightly. 

Ginny sat down next to Elara and Elara noticed the cuts in her uniform and on her face. Elara's eyebrows furrowed in worry. 

"The hell happened to you?" Elara asked

"Couple of 6th year Slytherin girls were bullying a group of third year Hufflepuffs so I fought them." She said simply. 

"Who won?" 

"Who do you think?" 

"You?"

"Yeah right." 

"Want me to beat them up?" Elara asked, moving hair out of Ginny's face so she could inspect her cuts. 

"No. What I would like you to do however, is help me address my wounds and then help me fix my robes." Ginny replied. 

"That I can do." Elara stood up and then offered her hand to Ginny. Ginny took it and Elara lifted her. "Come on boys." 

Draco stood and Harry followed. The two walked secretly hand in hand behind the two girls so they wouldn't be seen. They snuck into the Slytherin common room and then into Draco, Ginny, and Elara's room. 

"Sit." Elara ordered to Ginny. She began grabbing supplies and then walked back over to Ginny. Harry walked over and stood behind Elara's shoulder, an overwhelming look of worry across his face. 

"I'm fine Harry. Don't worry." Ginny assured him. 

"I'm your brother Gin. I always worry about you." He replied. She smiled and Elara pretended to gag, earning a small laugh from her brother. 

Harry elbowed him. 

Elara finished tending to Ginny's wounds and then used magic to fix her robes. 

"Good as new." Elara claimed. 

"Thanks El. I owe you one." 

"Shut up, no you don't." Elara said, throwing a pair of Gryffindor pajamas at Ginny, one of the pairs she left in their room because she slept there every night. 

Their friendship, however unlikely, was never a secret. Ginny had been very nervous about making friends, seeing as in the year they met Ginny was being controlled by Voldemort, unbeknownst to Elara who had become in enraged to learn about that fact at the end of the year. 

Elara and Ginny were both late to their classes and they were running in opposite directions in opposite hallways and they turned the corner only to run into each other head on. Elara stood up and apologized only to have Ginny scoot backwards. 

"I'm not gonna hurt you. I promise." Elara said. "I really didn't didn't mean to hit you." 

She held out her hand and Ginny cautiously took it. Elara walked her to her potions class and told Snape that she had run into her on the way to class and it was Elara's fault that she was late. Ginny was surprised. Then Elara picked her up from class and walked her to her next one. Then she did it again. Then she took her to the library after classes. 

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Elara had no friends either, other than her brother. The two kind of needed each other. 

The day Elara found out about Ginny she was very upset. 

"What do you mean Ginny was the one who opened the chamber of secrets?" Elara asked Dumbledore who stood across from her while she sat in the chair next to Ginny's hospital bed. 

"She was being controlled by Voldemort through what seems to be a journal your father slipped to her." Dumbledore responded calmly. Elara then became furious, she threw herself up out of her chair in anger.

"WHAT?!"  

She had woken Ginny. 

That was almost four years ago. 

Now Ginny practically lived in Elara and Draco's room. She had her own section of the wardrobe and all of her toiletries had become mixed in with Elara's. 

"Hey Harry, it's almost curfew. If you aren't out of our room in three minutes I will kick you out and hope you get points taken!" Elara called from the bathroom as she washed her face. Ginny laughed from in the shower which was behind Elara. Harry groaned and laid back on Draco's bed. Elara poked her head out the door, her toothbrush now in her mouth. She pulled it out and smiled at him. She spit out her toothpaste in the sink then looked again to see if he was still laying there, and he was. "Now."

"Fine." He pouted. He stood up and looked towards the bathroom. "Night Ginny! Night El! Love you both!" 

"Love you too!" They screamed in unison. Harry turned to Draco. 

"Love you. Goodnight." Harry said. Draco smiled and kissed him. 

"Love you, goodnight. See you tomorrow, you arse." He replied as Harry walked towards the door 

"If you are so lucky ferret." He called as departed the room. Ginny turned off the shower and stepped out in a towel. Elara left the room and took a deep breath. Draco walked into the bathroom to shower. Elara brushed Ginny's hair and then she put it into two French braids. Ginny smiled and then laid down in her and Elara's bed. 

Elara said goodnight to her and Ginny fell asleep immediately. Elara walked into the bathroom as Draco was washing off his toothbrush. 

"Shit." Elara said, rubbing her forehead and sitting on the counter. 

"Still feel it?" Draco asked. Elara nodded her head. 

"Yeah." She muttered. 

"Still getting worse?"

"Gets harder to hide it everyday" 

"Maybe you should te-"

"No. I won't. I'm not doing that." Elara interrupted. 

"I don't know what else to tell you El. That's the only thing to do." He said

"Yeah I know."

Pause. 

"I'm gonna go to bed. Love you." She hopped off the counter and Draco pulled her into a hug. He kissed her on the forehead and she smiled. 

"Love you too. Night El."

"Goodnight Dray."

Elara walked over to her bed and laid down. She looked at Ginny the turned the opposite direction. She closed her eyes and breathed in. 

She had been best friends with Ginevra Weasley for three and a half years and she had been in love with her for three of them. The worst part was that her feelings grew stronger the more time she spent with her and she spent all of her time with her. 

Currently the only time she spent away from her was classes and that almost hurt more than being with her. 

Elara looked back over towards Ginny and smiled. She was in for it deep. 

"Fuck"  
  ______________________________

Elara looked at the sun outside the window for a moment and then looked over at Ginny. She admired her for a moment and then shook her. 

"Ginevra." She said soothingly. Ginny's face turned the other direction. 

"Ginny." She said it a bit louder but still nothing. 

"Ginny!" She was much louder this time and Ginny not only got up but she fell out of the bed entirely. Elara caught her before she fell with a spell and then looked down at her. She let her touch the ground and then she began laughing. 

"You okay?" Elara asked. Ginny rolled over. 

"Yeah. I'm fine." Ginny laid there for a second and then she started laughing. Elara sat back up and looked at her brother. She threw a pillow at him. 

"Wake up!" She screamed. He sat up and looked at her. She smiled at him. 

"Morning sleepyhead." She said. He glared at her, threw the pillow back, and then looked around. Ginny had finally stood up and she was walking towards the bathroom. Elara stood and walked in as well. She went to the shower and turned it on. She looked up at the mirror to see Ginny looking at her only to look down quickly and blush. Elara smiled, shut the curtain and then stepped into the shower, throwing the towel the had been wearing over the top bar so it wouldn't get wet. 

Ginny wasn't in the bathroom when Elara got out but Draco was. Elara got dressed and then walked forward to the mirror. She dried her hair and then she curled it. Her makeup was quick, she had it on a system by now. She stared at her reflection for a moment and then she exited the bathroom. 

"Ready?" She asked the two in front of her. 

"Yeah." Ginny smiled. 

"Yes." Draco said after. She smiled and then looped her and Ginny's arms. The three of them walked out of the room to meet Blaise and Pansy. The five of them walked to the Great Hall together. 

Once there Ginny separated with Elara and went to the Gryffindor table. Elara took a deep breath and then followed her brother. He looked at her. 

"You okay?"

"I never think it's possible but I wake up in the morning, look at her, and I'm more in love with her than I was before." She replied, sitting down next to him. She grabbed toast and some orange juice. 

"You really should-"

"Tell her. I know." Elara looked over at Ginny and then she looked at Draco. "Sorry to report I don't think that is ever going to happen." 

Draco didn't reply.  
  ______________________________

Elara wasn't paired with Draco as usual, Harry was. With Snape, Elara knew it was malicious, in an attempt to mess up Harry's day because Harry 'hated' Draco. Elara was paired with Weasley. 

"Hey." She said, smiling and sitting down next to him. He looked at her. 

"Hello." He replied, not even looking at her. She nodded her head in understanding and set down her stuff. She grabbed the ingredients and sat down. Elara began to put stuff together and Ron stirred, never saying a word. When the class was over, Elara grabbed her stuff and met Ginny outside. 

"Hey you." Ginny said, nudging her. Elara smiled. 

"Hey." She replied. In this moment, the one where Ginny grabbed Elara's hand, Ron walked out with Hermione and Harry and saw them. He looked at Ginny and Elara then scoffed. 

"Dykes." He murmured under his breath. It didn't seem like he was attempting to be particularly offensive, he was just talking without thinking. 

"Ron!" Hermione yelped in surprise. Harry looked at him and then punched him in the face. 

Elara pulled Harry back from doing it again, but he got free. He ran up to Ron and Ron pushed him. There was an actual fight. 

Hermione grabbed Ron and Elara grabbed Harry again. 

"Harry, he isn't worth it!" She told him. Harry continued to struggle. 

She dragged him away and Ginny followed. Draco met them in the room. 

"Harry James, what was that?!" Draco yelled. Elara began cleaning his wounds and she looked at his broken nose. 

"Ron called them Dykes." Harry explained, holding a tissue to his nose as directed. Draco's face turned from one of worry to one of anger. 

"What?" He was very upset, you could hear it in his voice. 

"Look, he thinks we are together and that makes him annoyed. He just doesn't think before her speaks. He's hot headed, he lets his emotions control him. He assumes I'm a dark witch trying to corrupt his baby sister." Elara explained, before cracking Harry's nose into place, earring a grunt. 

"Blimey El." Harry muttered, holding his nose. 

"That gives him no reason to insult who you are!" Draco yelled, ignoring Harry and staring t his sister. 

"I know that but I'm not going to fight him because it's pointless."

"Well I wasn't gonna let him get away with being an arse." Harry told them. Elara smiled and Ginny did too. They locked hands and stared at each other for a moment. Then looked away. Draco kissed Harry and Elara told him that he was as good as new. 

The four of them went to the docks.  
  ______________________________

"Harry?" Elara asked, sitting across from him in the library on a Sunday morning. 

"Yes El?" He replied, looking over at her. 

"What's been going on with you lately?" She asked him. He looked down. 

"Nothing Elara. I don't get what you mean."

"Harry James Potter, if you think I haven't noticed your tired looks of worry then you are very wrong. I'm the closest thing you have to a sister other than Ginny and I know when somethings up so spit it out." She replied. He looked at her. 

"I've been having nightmares." He said, almost embarrassed. 

"What?"

"At first I just kept seeing Cedric die. I watched it a thousand times but then they started to change. The dreams became so much worse. Ones where you and Ginny and Draco die. Or Sirius. It's always my family that dies and it's always my fault. It's killing me El. Slowly but surely I can feel my soul being ripped out piece by piece. I don't know what to do but every time I close my eyes I feel like someone's in trouble and then someone is and then they're dead." He told her. Elara frowned. 

"Have you told anyone other than me about this?" 

"No." 

"Why not?"

"I don't want people worrying about my problems." He looked down again. 

"And what about your hand?" Elara asked. Harry's eyes widened and he looked up. "Of course I noticed. You're very bad at hiding things from me but almost everyone is so don't be upset about it."

"It's nothing."

"You have the words 'I must not tell lies' deeply scared into your hands. That's not nothing. Umbridge has no right to torture you as punishment." Elara replied coolly. 

"When did you find out?" Harry asked after a brief moment of silence. 

"I knew something was up with your hand for a while because you had been messing with it and hiding it. I saw it yesterday when you had a lapse in memory for a moment and forgot to hide it. I put the pieces together." Elara said. "Umbridge is the only person here who is evil enough and insane enough to pull shit like that." 

Harry stared at her. 

"You tell Draco?" Harry asked after a moment. 

"No. He saw it when I did. He figured that's why you've been acting so strange but I knew something else was up. You've been like this since before the first days of classes." Elara told him. 

"He mad?"

"At Umbridge? Yeah, He's pissed. At you, no. He's just worried." Elara told him. Harry smiled sadly and then gathered his stuff. 

"So am I." And with that, he stood up, kissed her on the forehead, and then he left. Elara walked back to her room and she laid down in the bed. 

She took deep breaths and assured herself that everything was going to be okay soon. She just had to stay calm. 

She had never been more wrong in her life.


	3. 5th year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Elara Malfoy, I have won. Join me once more and you shall live. Deny me again and you shall die." She heard. Elara sat up slightly. 
> 
> "You'll have to kill me."
> 
> "Then I will."

Elara wished she could say her vacation to her home for the week was boring and uneventful but her and Draco both knew that wasn't true. 

Elara was acting weird and Ginny wanted to know why. 

"El, what's going on with you?" Ginny asked. Elara looked up from the parchment she had been studying and made blank eye contact with Ginny from across the table. 

"I'm not sure I know what you mean?" Elara lied before looking at her parchment once again. Ginny frowned. 

"Elara." She muttered. 

"What? There nothing wrong Ginny. I'm fine." 

"Okay, you went home to say goodbye to your dying grandmother a week ago and you came back acting very strange. You jump anytime anyone touches you, you refuse to talk in class, Draco and Snape have been looking at you weird and you have been wearing sweaters in June. Somethings up." 

And then it clicked. 

"No. Elara." Ginny whispered. Elara held her breath. Before Elara could stop her Ginny grabbed her arm. Elara attempted to pull it away but it was useless. Ginny pushed up her sleeve. Elara felt a tear fall on her cheek as Ginny stared blankly at Elara's forearm. They sat like that for a moment before Ginny threw her arm down like it was poisoned. 

"Ginny-" Elara began but she was cut off by Ginny's hand making contact with her face. Elara placed her hand on her cheek and looked back at Ginny. 

"Traitor!" Ginny spat. "You're a death eater?!How could you?" 

"I... I couldn't help it-" 

"Yes you could! You have a choice and you chose the wrong side. You didn't even have the guts to tell me!" Ginny collected all of her stuff quickly. 

"No, please don't leave." Elara whispered. Ginny scoffed and then she glared at Elara. 

"Never talk to me again." 

Then she was gone. Elara stared at the seat where Ginny had sat calmly just two minutes previous, her face peacefully studying her potions book. Elara sat in shock for another moment before she wiped away her tear and then she rolled her sleeve and exited the empty library. 

Her arm burned.  
  ______________________________

Elara sat in professor Snape's bedroom in tears. He came into the room, and saw his god daughter, sitting on his head. 

"Elara. You can't be in here. You know-" he flicked on the lights 

She was crying. 

Snape's expression softened. This wasn't the first time she had been in his room without him knowing it but it was the first time she had been in it like this. He moved towards his stove and put on a kettle of water before sitting down across from her on the bed and wiped away a tear. 

Most people had never seen this side of him but his God children were the most important thing in the world to him and seeing Elara like this hurt him. 

"She found out." Elara sobbed. "We were studying and she started talking about how I was acting weird and then it sort of clicked in her mind. She grabbed my arm and stared at it before she told me to never speak to her again." 

"Did you explain why he made you take it?"

"She wouldn't let me tell her. She hardly let me say anything." Elara wiped her tears away. 

"You have to tell her." 

"She won't listen." 

"So make her."  
  ______________________________

"Where are you going?" Draco asked, watching her rush towards the forest. 

"Ministry of Magic. I'm being called." She replied, continuing to walk. 

"Is that where Harry's disappeared to?" Draco asked. Elara didn't want to look at him. 

"Yes." 

Draco grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop and make eye contact with him. 

"I want to come."

"No. I'm about to go defy the deatheaters, you are not going to be there for that. They'll try to use you against me and Harry." She told him before turning to continue walking. Draco chased after her. She reached the edge of the apperating barrier on the grounds and Draco grabbed her arm for a second time to turn her. She stared at him and he let go of her. 

"Bring him back safe please." He pleaded, looking into her eyes. "He's the love of my life and I need him. Please."

Elara took a deep breath. 

"I promise."

Then she was apperating illegally. 

Harry had stopped talking to Elara but because Draco wasn't a death eater he still trusted him. Draco had tried to tell Harry why Elara had become a death eater, that she didn't have a choice because he would have killed her family and Ginny, but Harry just couldn't trust her and Elara didn't blame him. 

She wouldn't either. 

Elara showed up at the ministry right in between the group she was there for and the group she wasn't. 

She was exactly where she wanted to be. 

"Ah, Elara. You've finally arrived." Her father said. Elara looked at him and smiled. 

"It seems I have." Elara replied coolly. She looked over at the people she had come to protect and they all glared at her. She smiled at them. 

"Good. You can retrieve the prophecy." Lucius told her. Elara turned to Harry. 

"You listen to it yet?" She asked. Harry furrowed his brows. "I need to know. Have you?" 

"Yes." He replied. Elara smiled. 

"Good." Elara levitated it and it flew into her hand. Harry had tried to stop her but he couldn't. It was almost impossible to stop someone with wandless magic if you couldn't do wandless magic. 

"Now I know you really are a traitor." Harry spat, looking at her arm. Elara laughed and then looked at him dead in the eye. He glared and she smirked. 

"You wanna know why the dark lord wanted a 15 year old in his ranks? He found out I could preform wandless magic and apparently I was 'very powerful' which meant he would have an advantage.He didn't really take into account if I wanted to be a death eater or not." Elara replied. Elara asked him. Hermione caught on immediately and smiled. The others seemed confused. Lucius seemed to catch on too. 

"Elara no. Give me that prophecy." He ordered. She turned to him and smiled then turned back to Harry and the group. 

"Run." She told them. They stood for a moment confused. "Or don't. You can die if you want." 

Harry smiled brightly, finally understanding, and he began to run the other direction. Everyone immediately followed as all the shelves began to fall. Elara sprinted to the door, following Harry and he opened it. Everyone fell through and Hermione stopped them from hitting the ground. They stood up. 

"Betraying Voldemort? Elara Narcissa Malfoy you are going to die if you do this?! What the hell is wrong with you?! Why are you helping us? What are you doing?" Ginny asked her angrily. It was clear she was scared about what was going to happen to her best friend and Elara knew in that moment that Ginny still cared about her. Elara paused and looked at her. 

"Getting myself killed." Elara replied, smiling. The death eaters appeared in the room and grabbed everyone except for Harry and Elara. Her dad glared at her. 

"Elara Narcissa Malfoy, you give me that prophecy this minute." Her father ordered. Elara smirked and then the glass ball flew into the air out of anyone's reach. 

"You better let them go." Elara warned. He looked around the room and assessed his options. The the order came, the order Elara called. 

Elara smiled brightly. 

"Get away from my godson." Sirius punched Elara's dad in the face and Elara laughed. 

"Elara." Sirius said, smiling at her. 

"Mr. Black." She replied politely. He shot a curse at a death eater. 

"Don't ever call me that again." He said. Elara laughed. Lucius grabbed Harry when they weren't paying attention. 

"Well father, it seems you made the wrong choice." Elara frowned. Then she let the prophecy go. Lucius threw Harry to the side and jumped go catch it but he missed. Elara smiled at his face of defeat. 

"Avada Kedavra!" Elara heard it and pushed Sirius and Harry aside with her mind and ducked. Elara smiled and stood up. 

"You stupid dumb bitch." Elara yelled, but Bella smiled and turned. 

"Crucio!" Bella yelled. Then the scream. Elara recognized the scream because she would know that voice anywhere. She looked over at Ginny. Bellatrix lifted her off the ground and threw her down. 

"No!" Elara screamed. Ginny collapsed to the floor, heaving, unable to catch her breath. Bella lifted her again and this time, she threw her to the other side of the room. Her chest wasn't moving. 

Ginny wasn't breathing. 

Elara looked back over to Bellatrix and sprinted after her. Bellatrix skipped through the halls. 

"I killed her. You gonna hurt me?" Bella laughed. 

"CRUCIO!" Elara screamed Bellatrix collapsed. Harry chased after her. 

"Elara no!" He screamed but then she heard the voice. 

"Do it." Voldemort whispered. 

"You know the spell." He continued. 

"She killed her. She deserves it. Kill her." 

"Elara you're better than them. You are better than they will ever be. Don't kill her because as much as she deserves it-" Harry walked over to her and gently grabbed her hand with her wand that had been pointed at Bella. He moved in front of her and looked at her in the eyes.  "-you are not a murder."

Elara realized what she was doing. She was no better than Bellatrix. 

"Kill her Elara. Kill her." 

Elara breathed heavily. 

"No." 

Disobeying her dad and the deatheaters was one thing but disobeying Voldemort directly was something entirely different. 

And way more dangerous. 

Voldemort appeared in the room and Harry stood his ground beside her. 

"You two are foolish." He laughed. "And now you are going to die." 

Elara heard the flames and she looked over to see Albus walk through them. 

"The only one foolish here is you Tom. The aurors are on their way." 

"By the time they get here I shall be gone and you three shall be dead." 

Albus pushed Elara and Harry to the wall. She saw Harry stand up again but she stayed down as they fought. She was thinking about Ginny lying on the ground bleeding. 

Dead. 

She had been thinking about this until she saw Harry collapse. 

"Harry!" She shouted. She stood up and ran over to him. She fell next to him. He was struggling, Elara could see it.

"Harry, please. You're better than him. You've beaten him time and time again. He doesn't have to win. You don't have to loose. It isn't how you are alike but how you are different. Please. Fight him. For me. I just lost the girl I've been in love with for over three years. I can't loose my brother too. I just can't. I know you hate me. I know I'm a deatheater and I'm a traitor but I've never stopped loving you. Please fight him. He can't win. If he wins I'll loose everything I've ever loved including you." Elara begged. 

Harry slithered next her and then his head flew back. Elara felt her tears and she felt weak. She felt hopeless. She couldn't help him. She let him down. She let herself down, Ginny down. She let everyone down. 

Most importantly she let Draco down. 

"Bring him back safe please." 

"Harry." She murmured, wiping the hair out of his face. Harry slithered for another moment and then he fell, flat on his back, motionless. Elara stared for a moment. 

"He's the love of my life and I need him."

"Oh god." She muttered. She felt herself sob. Everyone watched from afar but none of them had the guts to come near them and look at Harry, laying there lifeless under Voldemort's spell. 

Sirius ran into the room and looked at the picture in front of him, his god son not moving underneath Voldemort, and his cousins daughter crying next to him. 

"Harry! Elara!" Sirius screamed. He attempted to run forward but Remus grabbed him and held him back. 

Elara stared at Harry, having a hard time catching her breath. 

"Please"

"He's dead." Voldemort laughed. And he was right. 

Harry Potter wasn't breathing. 

"No." Elara whispered. Elara let out another choked sob and then she screamed. She fell into his chest.

"Please"

"Elara Malfoy, I have won. Join me once more and you shall live. Deny me again and you shall die." She heard. Elara sat up slightly. 

"You'll have to kill me."

"Then I will." 

She had broken her promise. 

"Please"

Elara closed her eyes and then she kissed Harry's forehead. She sat for a second before he awoke with a start. He breathed heavily for a moment and then he moved his head. 

"You're the weak one and you'll never know love or friendship." Harry began. "And I feel sorry for you." 

Then he screamed. Elara could see he was in pain and it hurt her to watch. He struggled further and then Voldemort left his body. 

Time seemed to slow down. 

Elara saw the minister and his people come in to the hall and he made direct eye contact with Voldemort. 

"He's back." Fudge whispered. 

Then Voldemort was gone. 

Elara pulled Harry's head into her lap and she stroked his hair. He was hyperventilating. Elara picked him up and then she aperated outside of the school gates. She ran to the hospital wing and dropped him in a bed. 

"Poppy!" She screamed. There was no answer. 

"Poppy!" 

Nothing. 

Elara decided instead of waiting she would do what she had done plenty of times before, and clean his wounds. She did so while he was asleep so he would be in the least amount of pain possible. 

Then Draco ran in. 

"Draco you can't be here" Elara told him. 

"My boyfriend is hurt, again, and you are too. You need me as much as he does." 

"I'm fine Draco."

"You're a liar. What happened?" He asked. 

"I went where I was ordered to because I knew Harry would be there. I got the prophecy and destroyed it before Lucius could take it to the dark lord. We were winning when Bella shot the killing curse towards us. I managed to get Sirius and Harry away which made her mad. She threw Ginny against a wall and then she threw her again." Elara wiped away a tear then put down her sewing needle. 

"She's dead." Elara whispered. Draco looked down at the ground. 

"I was about to kill Bella when the Dark Lord showed up. He possessed Harry. He was dead for a minute before somehow he revived himself. Then I brought him here." Elara explained. Draco grabbed her hand and then pulled her into him. She sat silently in his lap. 

"I'm so sorry." He murmured. Elara hadn't cried for Ginny yet. She had still been in shock. 

Elara sat there in silence. She continued to fight tears for a moment before she collapsed into Draco and she began to cry. 

It was heartbreaking. 

The three of them sat in the hospital wing. Harry was sleeping, something Elara was sure he hadn't done in at least a month from the way he had passed out. Elara sat in Draco's lap in the chair next to Harry, her face all red and splotchy from the tears she had finally cried. She had almost fallen asleep when Sirius, Ron, Hermione and everyone else ran in. They all looked at Draco. 

"What are you doing here?" Ron spat. Elara looked up at Ron and wiped her tear away. 

"I healed Harry because Poppy wasn't here and I thought his wounds should be cleaned. Draco came in to see if I was okay." Elara explained. Ron looked at her expression and nodded his head. 

Sirius got closer and kneeled in front of her. He placed his hand under her chin and moved her face side to side, checking for any cuts or scrapes.

"Are you hurt?" Sirius was genuinely concerned. 

"Physically, no. Just heartbroken." Elara replied, another tear falling. 

"Why?" Ron asked. Then Elara noticed he wasn't upset. 

"Where's Ginny?" Elara asked, standing up.

"On her way in here. Poppy healed her as best she could and now they're bringing her in here to continue her healing." Ron told her. 

"She's alive?" Elara stood up. It was in that moment that Ginny came through the room, being carried by Remus Lupin. "Oh thank god." 

Elara ran forward and sat down on the bed next Ginny. 

"Elara?" Ginny asked. 

"Yeah. It's me." Elara replied. 

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you." Ginny apologized. 

"Don't worry about that right now. You're alive, that's all I care about." Elara kissed Ginny's forehead and then watched as Poppy gave her about 10 healing potions. Ginny fell asleep almost instantly. Elara sat next to her, holding her hand as she slept. 

Ginny woke up from a nightmare two hours later and she made Elara hold her until she fell asleep again 

Ginny didn't have anymore nightmares.


	4. 5th year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scream. 
> 
> Elara fell to the ground. 
> 
> Her world was crumbling around her. 
> 
> Nobody could comfort her. 
> 
> Nobody could help her.

Elara was no longer welcomed at the Malfoy residence. She was sent a letter, which she refused to open until it was inspected, that informed her the next time she was seen in Malfoy Manor she would be terminated. 

She was not upset. 

That house had always been an absolute nightmare for her and she always dreaded going there in the summer. She however had no where else to stay, which she didn't tell anyone. 

She hugged Draco goodbye on the train and waited until him and her parents had left the station to exit the train. She walked on to the platform and she said bye to Ginny, who then walked away with her family. 

Then it was just her and Harry. He was almost positive his Aunt and Uncle weren't going to get him because of what happened last summer with the Dementors. They had told him they never wanted him back in their house. He informed Elara that they had said things like that before and then picked him up but this time seemed different. 

"There you are. Come on." 

The voice belonged to one Sirius Black who had been exonerated of his crimes and was now allowed in public. Elara looked over at him. Harry smiled and ran over to hug him, trunk in hand. They began to walk away and then Sirius turned around. 

"What are you doing? Let's go." He said, laughing. 

"Wait, you want me to come with you?" Elara asked. 

"Yeah. You have anywhere else to be?" Sirius asked. 

"Well no."

"Then let's go home." He turned and began to walk. Elara jumped up and then ran forward with her trunk catching up to them. 

"Wait, home?"

"Yeah. You two are coming to live with me, which Dumbledore was not happy about however I told him I was going to take you two with me if you were still there 1 hour after the train dropped you off. Here you are so I'm taking you home." Sirius replied, putting his arm over both of their shoulders and pulling them closer. 

"Let me get this straight. You want a death eater in your home?" Elara asked. 

"Our home and you're not a death eater. You were and even then you didn't want to be. I read your interview. You're no more a death eater than Harry or me." 

Elara couldn't help but smile as they apperated to Grimuald Place.  
  ______________________________

"Sirius!" Elara yelled from her bedroom. 

"Yeah?" He called back 

"Are we still going to Diagon Alley today?" 

"Yes." He called back. Elara descended the stairs and watched as Harry passed her sliding down the railing, as he did every morning. Elara walked into the kitchen and poured her tea in her cup and then grabbed an apple. 

"Why do you eat green apples?" Harry asked. 

"Why do you eat red apples?" Elara retorted. 

"Because red apples are good. Green apples are not." 

"You, my lovely best friend, are so very wrong." Elara said, as a matter o' factly ,throwing a red apple at him. He caught it and took a bite. 

"Hey. I thought I was your best friend!" Ginny claimed from behind her. Elara turned and then smiled. She ran at Ginny and hugged her. They pulled away and stared into each others eyes. 

"Okay love birds. Let's get going." George laughed. Elara glared at him and then grabbed her apple once more. Harry smiled and hugged Ron and Hermione. Elara smiled at them politely. Hermione hugged her and Ron did as well, but more reluctantly. 

"Sirius, you ready?" Elara called. Sirius came through the door from the kitchen. 

"As I'll ever be."  
  ______________________________

Elara didn't really imagine she would spend her entire time getting her things for school dodging her parents. She wished she could go see Draco but he seemed to be attached to them for some reason. He also looked different. Elara frowned and looked at Harry, who had seemed to notice it too. 

She never actually the chance to see him which made her angry. Something was up with him and Elara knew exactly what it was.  
  ______________________________

"I got a letter from my mum yesterday." Elara told Sirius, walking into the dining room. He straightened up and then set the newspaper he had been reading down. 

"What did it say?" He asked. Elara threw the letter on the table. 

"I'm guessing you knew Severus wasn't my only godfather?" Elara asked. Sirius gulped and looked up at her. She stared down at him. 

"Yes. I did."

"Any particular reason you didn't tell me you were my godfather?" She asked. Sirius hesitated for a moment. He stood up and grabbed her hand 

"Your father didn't know, he still doesn't. Your mother is my cousin, which I'm sure you knew, and she came came to me late one night, very pregnant, and very afraid. She told me she was afraid for you and your brothers safety. She asked me if I would be you and Draco's godfather. I said yes."

"That's why you were so concerned on whether I was hurt or not." Elara murmured. 

"That was part of it but you were also related to me. Your well being was important to me." Sirius told her, moving the hair out of her face. 

"Do you regret saying yes?" Elara asked, laughing dryly. 

"Not for one second. You and Harry are the most important things in my life, Draco too. He will always have a place with me. Always. Your father is a bad man, he never treated your mother right. She was always kind to me, kinder than my own brother. Her and I used to lie in my room when they stayed here and talk for hours. We would laugh about everything but when she started dating your father she started to become more fearful, flinching at everything. She stopped smiling as much. I never liked Lucius." 

"He's not the greatest father." Elara told him. Sirius stood up and began putting water in the kettle. He placed it on the stove. He walked over to Elara and kissed her on the forehead before passing her and grabbing three mugs, one for each of the people in the house. 

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't know if your mother wanted you to know. I felt it was her business to tell you." He explained. Elara smiled. 

"She told me to tell you she's sorry." 

"What, why?" Sirius asked, turning to face Elara. 

"She knew it was Wormtail, who gave away the Potters. She wishes she had said something, to get you out." Elara explained, standing up and grabbing the tea, and then setting the can down next to the mugs.

"It wouldn't have done anything but gotten her beaten by her husband. It wouldn't have changed the outcome. She did the best she could with the situation she was in."

That's when there was banging on the front door. 

Elara furrowed her brows and looked at Sirius. He looked towards the front of the house and then to Elara. She nodded her head and began to follow Sirius to the door. Harry descended the stairs and looked at them. 

"Who could that be?" He asked. Elara shook her head. 

"No idea." 

The three of them walked cautiously to the door, wands at the ready. Sirius looked at Elara and nodded his head. She threw the door open and they threw up their wands. The blonde raised his hands in surrender, barely and flinched as he did so. 

"Draco?" Elara asked. Everyone lowered their wands and looked at him. He was standing there, cut and bruised, covered in blood, and he had the dark mark on his forearm. 

"I'm sorry." He muttered before collapsing. 

"Draco!" Harry yelled, running to him. He picked him up and brought him inside. He set him on the couch and Elara ran into the kitchen, grabbing a wet rag. She threw it at Harry and he began dabbing his head with the cloth. Sirius ran to grab his medical kit and Elara looked at her brother in worry. 

The tea kettle screamed.  
______________________________

Elara cleaned his cuts and she looked him over. 

"Why was there so much blood?" Sirius asked, handing her the tea he had been making before Draco arrived. "What did they do to him?" 

"It wasn't all his, in fact I think most of it wasn't." Elara replied solemnly, standing up and taking a deep breath. 

"Who's was it?" Harry asked, shocked. 

"I have no idea." Elara admitted. She rubbed her forehead, looked at her brother and then took a sip of her tea. 

"You never answered." Sirius murmured. Elara looked at him. 

"Hmm?" 

"What did they do to him?" He asked solemnly. Elara swallowed. 

"Well, he had three broken ribs and a lot of shallow stabs. He had several cuts." Elara took a deep breath. "The word traitor is etched on his arm and he has bruises everywhere, the worst on his neck and thighs." 

Elara looked down at the ground and Harry looked as if he was about to vomit. He set his tea down on the sill of the fireplace 

"Oh my god." He muttered. Sirius closed his eyes and began to speak. 

"Did they r-" 

"No. They wouldn't do that, they're cruel but they would never touch someone they saw as a traitor in that way, it would be seen as wrong. I think they just wanted to torture him." Elara interrupted Sirius before he could even say the word. 

"That's disgusting." 

"There were also very deep lacerations on his back." Elara told them. "My guess is they whipped him in the same spot hundreds of times. And, knowing their methods of torture from experience, my guess is the cruciatus curse was used at least 15 times." 

It was quiet and then she continued 

"At a minimum" 

That was the breaking point. Harry, in a fit of rage, swiped everything off of the desk all at once. Elara flinched. Sirius ran over and grabbed him from behind. He held him as Harry began to fall. He was sobbing. It had to hurt, seeing the man he loved like this. Elara felt for him. 

Harry sat on the ground, in Sirius' arms, silently crying. That was until Draco groaned. 

Elara dropped her mug, glass shattering, and ran over to him. She kneeled next to the couch and wiped the hair on Draco's forehead. Elara laughed through her tears. 

"Hey you." She murmured. She continued to wipe his forehead as he opened his eyes. He looked sleepily at his sister. 

"Elara?" He whispered harshly. 

"Yeah Dray, it's me." She told him. 

He smiled.  
  ______________________________

Draco took a day of recovery and sleep before he came down for breakfast the next morning. Sirius handed him a cup of tea and he sat down. Harry sat next to him, their hands on the table top, folded together. 

"Am I at Grimuald?" He asked. Elara nodded her head. "Mum told me about Sirius and then she told me to come here right before they came into my room and took me."

"Took you where?" Elara asked. 

"The dungeons. They tortured me for days." 

"Why?" 

"They knew I was going to leave." 

"How did you get out?" Sirius asked. Draco closed his eyes. 

"After a few days of being being in the dungeons they brought her in. They made me watch as they-" he stopped and took a deep breath. "They stabbed her to death." 

Elara's breath hitched. 

"Who?" She asked, already knowing the answer. 

"I listen to her scream for hours and hours as they tortured her. Stabbed her, beat her, used the cruciartis on her. Lucius watched in horror, almost in tears. He's the one who released me." Draco looked down at the ground and Harry squeezed his hand. 

"Who did they stab?" She continued. Draco looked at her sympathetically. 

"She looked at me so lovingly in her final moments, as she was bleeding out. She smiled at me and she told me she loved me and she knew I would do great things. She told me to tell you that she is so proud of you for standing up for what it right and being who you are and she will watch over us. She said she loved you. Then they dragged her out of the room and then I heard her scream one final time."

Elara threw her chair back as she stood up and slammed her hand on the table. 

"Who did they kill?!" 

She knew the answer. 

She hated the answer. 

The answer was vomit inducing and as Draco looked up at her she began to stumble back. 

"Our mother."

Scream. 

Elara fell to the ground. 

Her world was crumbling around her. 

Nobody could comfort her. 

Nobody could help her. 

She wanted her mum. Her mum used to hold her at night and sing when she was upset. She used to tell her everything was going to be alright. She used to hold her hand under the table while Voldemort spoke to them. 

She felt hollow. 

"Elara?" 

This voice didn't belong to any of the boys but to Ginny. Elara raised her head and looked at her. The room was light, it was around noon. Ginny sat down and pulled Elara into her. 

"Gin." Elara cried. 

"I'm so sorry Elara. I'm so so sorry." Ginny muttered. Elara felt sick. 

"My mother is-" She let out a shaky breath and took another. She felt her tears falling on her face. "My mother is dead."

"I know my love." 

She cried in Ginny's arms.


	5. 6th year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elara wanted a change. She looked in the mirror every morning and saw her mother. It hurt too much. 
> 
> She returned to Grimuald Place on August 31st, her hair shoulder length and dark brown.

Elara wanted a change. She looked in the mirror every morning and saw her mother. It hurt too much. 

She returned to Grimuald Place on August 31st, her hair shoulder length and dark brown.

"Woah, Elara." Harry muttered.  

"It bad?" She asked. 

"No. It looks great, really. It's just your hair was really long and really blonde this morning and you came back with short brown hair. It's just change but for you, as of late, I think a well needed one." He told her. 

Elara smiled.

"I do too. After my mom, I just needed the long blonde hair to go away. It was too hard."

"I imagine. I never really knew my mum and it still hurts when I look at my eyes in the mirror. I honestly can't imagine what your feeling, but I imagine it's not good." Harry told her, handing her a cup of tea. She took it, smiling sadly. 

"It's not the greatest of feelings, no." Elara replied, sitting on the counter opposite of Harry, one foot on top the counter, leg folded and one leg hanging down. She sat her tea down and grabbed a green apple. 

"I really am sorry about what happened to her. I know I've said it before but I think you're actually listening now so I'm gonna say it again." He told her. She took a bite of the apple. 

"Thank you Harry." She looked him and smiled sadly. "Really." 

It was in this moment that Draco came into the kitchen. Elara, hidden behind the cabinet, went unseen for a moment. 

"Hello love." He said to Harry, kissing him. Harry smiled and Draco turned to see his sister, who was almost unrecognizable from the complete change. It took him a moment. 

"Oh my god, Elara." He said. "Your hair?" 

He walked closer and began inspecting it. 

"You like it?" She asked. He smiled. 

"I love it. You look amazing." He told her, kissing her forehead and then grabbed an apple from behind her. 

"What is up with you two a green apples?" Harry asked. 

"They're delicious, unlike those disgusting red apples your so very fond of." Elara told him. He stuck his tongue out at her and she stuck hers out in response. Draco laughed and walked back over to his boyfriend, the apple crunching as took a bite. 

Elara laughed and hopped of the counter. She grabbed her tea and her apple and walked towards the sitting room. Sirius heard the footsteps and glanced up quickly from his newspaper before looking straight back down at it. 

"Hey El." He remarked before his eyes widened and he looked back up.  

"Good? Bad?" She asked. Sirius sat his paper down and then smiled. 

"You look lovely, as always." He told her. She smiled. 

"Alright, everyone I live with likes it so that's a good start." Elara remarked, siting down in the couch next to him. She took a bite of her apple and then she tossed the core into the trash can by the fireplace. Sirius raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed by the shot. She then took another sip of her tea and then set it on the table next her. Sirius smiled sadly at her. 

"Come here" He looked at her. She scooted closer and she snuggled into him. "How you doin kid?" He asked her. Elara smiled. 

"Better than I was yesterday." 

Draco and Harry walked into the room and sat on the floor next to the fireplace. They curled up on the floor and eventually, the two fell asleep, listening to the crackling of the fire. Elara fell asleep in her godfathers arms. Sirius smiled at the family he had, surveying the kids he loved so much. He looked down at his goddaughter and he kissed her forehead. 

Sirius fell asleep happier than he had been in a long time.  
  ______________________________

Elara boarded the train and got many strange stares. She ignored them and sat down in an empty compartment. She waited for a moment and then she looked over to see Ginny, standing in the doorway, looking at Elara. 

"Your hair." Ginny muttered. Elara stood up and looked down at it. She grabbed the ends in between two fingers and pulled it up to eye level. Then she sat the ends down and looked at Ginny. 

"Do you hate it? I just wanted a change but I didn't know what to do. Then I finally decided I should change my hair. I just wanted it to be very different. I don-"

Then Ginny's lips were on hers. She had grabbed Elara's face and pressed their lips together without a second thought. She pulled back and looked Elara in the eyes. 

"I'm sorry. I've been wanting to do that for years and I've been to afraid to but I just couldn't help myself." 

"Fucking finally." Elara muttered. Ginny laughed. 

Elara smiled and kissed her again. They pulled apart. 

"You look beautiful by the way, although you always do."  
______________________________

"So, are you two like a thing now?" Draco asked. Ginny was lying in the seat, head in Elara's lap as she was seated crisscross. 

"I don't know. Hadn't gotten that far." Ginny replied. Elara smiled and kissed Ginny's forehead. Ginny smiled back. The compartment door opened to reveal a very tired looking Harry. 

"Potter?" Draco asked, standing up. Harry took a deep breath and then he leaped into Draco's arms. 

"Woah, love, you saw me not but twenty minutes ago. What's going on?"

"Your arm, people have been seeing your arm. They seem fearful of you and someone spat at me and called me a faggot deatheater loving bastard. It got to me until the minute I saw your face. And then it all went away." 

Elara smiled. 

"Three years of being with him and his face still gives you peace? Don't worry, once it reaches 16, you'll feel more uncomfortable by it." Elara commented. Ginny laughed and Draco looked at her, glaring.

Harry let go and stared at Draco. 

"Don't you dare snog right now." Elara warned. Draco groaned. 

"But you got too." He whined. 

"What?" Harry asked. Ginny blushed. Elara smirked. 

"Yes. I did, but you weren't here and I haven't made you watch me snog hundreds of times." Elara retorted. 

"You snoged?" Harry asked as he sat down. Draco took his place beside him. 

"We did." Ginny replied, smiling brightly. 

"Finally." Harry said. Ginny laughed and Elara looked down at her. Draco took this moment to stick his tongue down his boyfriend's throat. 

"Really?" Elara asked them. They both looked over at her and Ginny. Elara made a face of disgust "Gross." 

Then the door was opened. 

"Hey." The voice said. Elara looked over at Ronald. He smiled meekly. 

"Hey Ron." Ginny replied, sitting up. He smiled at his sister and then turned to Elara. 

"Look. I'm an arse, which we already knew. I assumed you were evil because of your family and I was worried for Ginny. I've been rude to you for years and it's unacceptable." He rubbed the back of his neck and made eye contact with her. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry." 

Elara smiled brightly.

"Apology accepted." She told him. Ron smiled and held out his hand and Elara shook it from her seat. 

"Cool." He muttered. Harry looked at him and leaned back into Draco. Ron looked over at them. 

"I mean the same to you. You're not a bad person. I just judged and that was wrong."

"I get it, we all make those mistakes. Water under the bridge." Draco assured. 

"Thanks mate."

"Of course."

"That was very big of you Ron." Ginny told him, smiling. "Thank you." She said. Ron smiled. 

"Can I sit in here?" He asked. Elara looked around and then she smiled at him. 

"I think that would be acceptable."  
______________________________

"So, I've been thinking." Elara began. 

"Uh oh, that's not good" Ginny joked. Elara tapped her on the side of the arm playfully. "Kidding love, what have you been thinking." 

Harry smiled and Draco did as well, already know what she was going to say. 

"I've been thinking it's an absolute travesty that you aren't my girlfriend." She replied, opening her book. Ginny closed hers in surprise. 

"What?" Elara didn't say anything "What did you just say?" 

"I just think we should be dating but we aren't."

"Are you asking me out?" Ginny asked. Elara glanced her eyes up from her book and then looked back down at it. 

"That depends on whether or not you'll say ye-"

Ginny cut her off by kissing her. Elara smiled and then eased into it. After a moment, Draco cleared his throat. 

"We are still here."

"Zip it Draco." Elara told him, before kissing Ginny again. They pulled away and smiled. 

"Was that a yes?" Elara asked her. 

"Absolutely."  
  ______________________________

"Sir, you haven't told us what's in that one." Katie Bell told Slughorn. 

"Ah yes." He began unscrewing the vile and then he picked it up. He surveyed the room to see Elara, staring at Pansy with a look of confusion and fear. 

"Ms. Malfoy." He called. Elara snapped her head towards him. 

"Sir?" 

"Is there any way you could tell me what this is called?" Professor Slughorn asked. Elara looked at it. 

"Um." She walked closer and he handed her the vile. Everyone stared at her, and even Hermione Granger looked puzzled. She picked it up and circled it, watching the liquid swirl. "From the color and the consistency, I'm gonna guess Felix Felsis, otherwise known as liquid luck?" 

Everyone stared at Slughorn to find out if she was correct. 

"Very good Ms. Malfoy. 10 points to Slytherin. I'm impressed." He told her. Elara smiled brightly and everyone else looked flabbergasted. 

"So, this is what I offer to each of you today, one tiny vial of liquid luck to the student who manages to brew an acceptable draft of Living death, recipes for which can be found on page ten of your book." Elara smiled and opened her book. Harry stood next to her. She turned her head slightly and looked over at his book to see the writing, which looked familiar, yet she couldn't place it.

"Whose writing is that?" She asked. 

"I have no idea." He replied. Elara frowned. She began to work but she saw Harry successful in his attempts, unlike her, because she was failing miserably. 

"Hey, can I look at that book?" She asked. Harry smirked. 

"Absolutely." He replied. She smiled and made her way next to him. She began following the instructions in the book. 

She finished with Harry. 

Slughorn inspected them both and realized they were both perfect. 

"Well, I only have one vile." He began. 

"It's alright Sir, Harry can have it." Elara said. "I merely like the satisfaction of knowing I can do what some others can't." 

Slughorn handed Harry the vile and he smiled at Elara. She raised her hand and Harry gave her a high five, Hermione frowning in the background.  
  ______________________________

Ginny looked better than ever. She was smiling and bright. It made Elara happy to see her so easy going. 

"Hey babe." Elara said, walking up behind Ginny and wrapping her arms around her. Ginny turned and faced her, and wrapped her arms around Elara's neck. 

"Well hello to you." Ginny laughed. Elara smiled and kissed her.  

"Can you not snog my sister in front of me?" Ron requested, walking into the Great hall. 

"But it's so hard to resist." Elara whined. 

"Malfoy." He warned. 

"Fine." 

Elara pretended to pout and then she laughed. She turned her head towards the entrance to see Pansy rush past, watching behind her back. Elara frowned and then let go of Ginny. 

"Hey, I'll be back in a minute, okay?" She muttered, watching the door then walking away. 

"Okay." Ginny tilted her head and watched her go as Elara sped out of the room. 

"That was odd." Ron murmured. Ginny nodded her head and then sat down, Ron following. 

"Isn't everything these days?"  
  ______________________________

"Pansy!" Elara yelled, catching up to her. Pansy turned and faced her friend. 

"I can't talk right now El. I'm sorry." 

She ran in the opposite direction.

"Pans, please!" She replied. Pansy stopped and turned again. Elara ran back up to her. 

"I really have to go."

"Where?"

"Somewhere."

"To do what?"

"Something. 

"Did he make you?" Elara asked. Pansy froze for a moment. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." She told her. 

"Yes you do. I know how it feels, for him to have power over you, you know he doesn't have to. I got away-"

"I'm sorry Elara but I have no clue what you're on about. Now if you'll excuse me." 

Pansy continued the other way.


	6. 6th year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Any particular reason, when something happens, five out of the six of you are almost always involved?" She asked. Elara looked down at the ground. 
> 
> "Believe me Professor. I've been asking myself the same question for five years." Ron told her. She frowned. 
> 
> "And Draco and I are supposed to be the enemy so, I have no idea how we keep getting pulled into this stuff."

Elara and Ginny walked towards the three broomsticks only to run into the golden Trio. 

"Hey guys." Elara said. They smiled. 

"Hello." Harry replied. 

"Where you headed?" Ginny asked, grabbing Elara's hand

"Three broomsticks." Ron replied. 

"Mind if we join you?" Elara asked. Hermione shook her head. 

"Not at all." She smiled at them. 

"Great." 

They walked with them along the path, Elara smiling as Ginny's hand was folded inside Elara's. 

Elara loved the three broomsticks, mostly because she could get a butterbeer and pretend life was great, if only for a few hours. The minute she walked back into Hogwarts she had to worry about grades, trying not to get murdered by sympathizers to Voldemort, and Pansy Parkinson who had become increasingly more tired looking and avoided everyone around her. She was become suspicious and Elara was nervous about it, but at the Three Broomsticks, none of that mattered. 

She sat down next to her girlfriend and held her hand. 

"Something to drink?" A waiter asked. 

"Five butterbeers and some ginger wine please." Hermione requested. The man nodded his head and walked off. Harry continued to stare in a different direction than the people sitting at the table with him. 

"Harry?" Elara asked. In that moment Harry waved and Elara turned to see Slughorn approaching them.

"Awesome" she murmured sarcastically, frowning at the table. 

"Harry my boy! And Elara Malfoy no less!" He exclaimed. Elara rolled her eyes, tugged her sleeve, and then turned towards him, smiling. 

"Hello sir-" Elara started. 

"Afternoon sir." Harry interrupted, standing up.

"Well you two, I used to have the occasional supper party and invite a student or two. Would you be interested?" He asked, looking back and forth between Harry and Elara. 

"I would consider it an honor sir." Harry replied. 

"I would love to sir." Elara continued. 

"You as well Miss Granger, Miss Weasley?" He asked. Hermione looked up from her butterbeer 

"I'd be delighted sir." Hermione told him. 

"Me as well." Ginny smiled. 

"Delightful. Look for my owl." He exclaimed. He then looked down at Ron. 

"Good to see you Wallenby." With that professor Slughorn left the table. 

"How come he got the name right when referring to you?" Ron asked, pointing towards Ginny. Ginny chuckled. 

"What was that all about?" Elara asked. Harry looked over at her. 

"Dumbledores asked me to get to know him." Harry replied. Elara frowned but said nothing. 

"Hello my love." Elara saw Draco emerge and sit down beside Harry, butterbeer in hand. 

"Why hello to you too." Harry replied. They kissed and Elara's face twisted into one of fake disgust. 

"Gross."  
______________________________

"Hermione seems a bit out of it." Ginny muttered, watching Hermione stumble ahead of them. She laughed and placed her arm around Ron's shoulders. 

"Yes. She does" Elara laughed as she walked along with her girlfriend. They caught back up to the other four just in time to hear the scream. Elara looked up to see Katie Bell, collapsed in the snow. 

"I warned her. I warned her not touch it." Leanne said. Elara stepped closer and then Katie started moving, side to side, very quickly. Elara took a deep breath and then watched as Katie shot up into the air. Elara watched in horror as she hung there for a moment before Katie was dropped to the ground. 

Hard. 

Elara ran forward and kneeled next to her. She flipped her onto her back. She looked back at Harry as he walked towards the package. 

"Don't touch that, not even the package, unless you want to end up like her." Elara ordered. Draco put his hand on Harry's shoulder and Harry stepped back. 

"Elara, step back. I'll get her." Hagrid said, emerging through the snow. He picked her up. "And like she said. No one touch that." 

Elara levitated the necklace and then she saw Pansy, running away.  
______________________________

Elara watched Mcgonagall lift the necklace with her wand and she looked at it as it spun in mid air. 

"You're sure Miss Bell did not have the package when she entered the three broomsticks?"

"It's like I said." Leanne began, her eyes dark and fearful "She left to go to the loo and when she came back she had the package. She said she had to deliver it." 

"To whom?"

"Professor Dumbledore." 

There was a silence. 

"Very well Leanee. Thank you, you may go." 

She scrambled out of the room and then Magonagall turned to the six students standing in a line in front of her. 

"Any particular reason, when something happens, five out of the six of you are almost always involved?" She asked. Elara looked down at the ground. 

"Believe me Professor. I've been asking myself the same question for five years." Ron told her. She frowned. 

"And Draco and I are supposed to be the enemy so, I have no idea how we keep getting pulled into this stuff." Elara continued. Then she looked back up. There were footsteps 

"Oh, Severus." She said. He stepped forward and began inspecting the necklace. Elara looked at it for a moment and then she heard the screeching in her head. Elara winced. "What do you think?"

"I think Miss Bell is lucky to be alive." 

Elara's eyes were still shut tightly, she still heard the screeching. 

"She was cursed wasn't she? I know Katie, she wouldn't hurt a fly." Harry asked. 

"Yes. She was cursed." 

Harry nodded his head and then grabbed his boyfriends hand. They stood there for another moment. 

The screeching stopped. Elara opened her eyes and breathed deeply. 

"If you have no more information, you may leave." Magonagall permitted. Everyone nodded their heads and Ginny grabbed Elara's hand. They began walking out. They made it outside when Elara heard the screeching again. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. 

"El?" Ginny asked, stopping when Elara did. 

"Elara?" She continued when Elara didn't respond. 

"STOP!" Elara screamed, falling to the ground in pain.

"Elara!" Ginny shouted, falling down next to her. Elara squirmed out of pain and then her eyes shot open.

That's when Elara Malfoy heard the voices.  
______________________________

Elara saw the Dementor and immediately threw the door shut.

She had seen this before. 

She looked around her cabin and then she grabbed her brothers hand. She squeezed and then he squeezed back. She breathed heavily until she heard a scream of someone she recognized. 

"Ginny." 

She held her breath. 

Then the lights turned back on. 

Elara shot up and sprinted out of the room, ignoring Pansy, Draco, and Blaise's cries telling her not to leave. She ran through the hallway and then she ran into a man she had never seen before. 

"I'm terribly sorry." She apologized. The man smiled. 

"No problem." And then he turned and walked towards the front of the train. Elara turned into the cabin he came out of. 

"Malfoy?" Harry asked, looking up and taking another bite of chocolate. 

"Potter." She said. Then she looked at his eyes

She saw his expression, grim and dazed. She looked at the ground and then back up. She made a mental note to talk to him later. 

"Anyone seen Ginny?" Elara asked. They all shook their heads. 

"Why?" Ron asked. Elara looked at him blankly. 

"Did you not hear her scream?" Elara asked incredulously. Ron shook his head. "Well that's why." 

Elara continued down the hall until she made her way to a cabin where she saw a girl crouched in the corner, people crowding her.

"Back off." Elara ordered. Everyone turned to her. "All of you, back away from her." 

Then it was just Ginny, sitting in a corner rocking back and forth. She looked up. 

"Elara?" She asked meekly. Elara ran over to her. 

"Oh my god Gin. What's happened?" 

"I don't know. I just felt like I was back to where I was last year, under someone's spell." Ginny replied. Elara sat down next to her and then pulled her into her chest. That's how they stayed until the train stopped. 

Then they went to the great hall and separated to their tables. Elara sat next to her brother. 

"You hear what happened to Harry?" Draco asked, his eyes filled with worry. 

"I saw him love, he's fine. I promise." Elara assured. Draco nodded his head but he looked over at Harry, still seeming afraid. 

"Welcome, welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Now I'd like to say a few words before we all become to befuddled with out excellent feast." Dumbledore began. Draco turned his attention and took a few deep breaths. "First I'm pleased to welcome Professor R.J. Lupin who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Good luck professor." 

Claps rang out and Elara realized this was the man she had run into. 

"Potter." Draco whispered harshly. Elara rolled her eyes and then turned to Draco to see what he was about to do. "Potter!" A little more harsh. Harry turned. 

"Is it true you fainted?" Draco seemed amused even though Elara knew he wasn't. "Like you actually fainted?"

Elara pretended to faint and everyone at the Slytherin table laughed. 

"Shove off Malfoy's" Ron sneered, turning Harry away from them and then looking at him. Elara took a deep breath and then turned to her brother. She smiled sadly at him and then she laid on his shoulder. He held held her. She closed her eyes and smiled. 

She opened her eyes to see an empty great hall, well empty except for her, her best friend, and the dementor. She screamed and ran to the doors, Ginny following, but they wouldn't budge. She slammed her fists on the door but they weren't moving. She slid, her back against the door, and sat on the ground. The dementor stole her soul. 

"Elara!" Ginny screamed. Elara sat there, lifeless. Ginny cried. 

The scene changed. 

"Harry" Elara whispered urgently. He began to stir. "Harry!" She continued. 

There was fire around them. This was the World Cup. 

What was she doing here? 

He woke up and looked at her. 

"Elara? What happened?" He asked. 

"Harry we have to go." 

"What?"

"Now! Let's go!" Elara dragged him and and pulled him behind her. He looked behind him and saw the man chasing them. There was a cracking noise and the man ran off. 

"Stupefy!" 

Elara pulled Harry down. 

"Stop!" She heard. She looked over towards the source of the voice to see Arthur Weasley running towards them. 

"Harry!" He looked over at Elara. He had a moment of surprise, seeing her stand behind Harry, him protecting her. "Mrs. Malfoy, are you both alright."

"Which of you conjured it?!" Crouch yelled

"Crouch you can't possibly think." 

"You've been discovered at the scene of the crime!"

"Crime?" Harry asked. "What crime?" 

"That's dark mark Harry. That's his mark." Elara told him. Harry looked over at her with wide eyes. 

"Voldemort?" He asked her. Elara nodded her head. "Those people tonight in the masks. Those were his followers?" 

"Yes. Death eaters." Elara told him. 

"There was a man. Before." Harry pointed. "He went that way." 

"Who Harry?" Arthur asked. 

"I don't know. I couldn't see his face." 

"You two stay here." Arthur walked off to help with the search. 

"Can you see it now?" The voice asked. Elara turned and screamed. Then she was shot with the curse. 

Elara woke up and took some heavy breaths. 

"Elara? My love?" Ginny asked. She looked around the courtyard, scared out of her mind, before she spoke. 

"Where's Barty Crouch Jr?"'  
  ______________________________

Elara sat in Dumbledore's office curled into Ginny, her leg shaking continually. 

"Mrs. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked, stepping into the room. Elara looked up at him then curled further into Ginny. She said nothing.  

"Dumbledore, she's been silent since she asked about Barty." Harry told him, sitting in the couch opposite of Elara and Ginny, Draco next to him. Dumbledore looked puzzled. 

"Has Poppy had a look at her?" Dumbledore inquired. 

"Yes sir." Draco responded. "She has nothing wrong with her physically, however mentally is unknown." 

"What happened to her?" Dumbledore asked. 

"She was walking with us. She had a moment where she looked as if she was in pain and then she just collapsed onto the ground." Ginny responded. 

"Why was she in pain?" He asked. 

"I don't know. I just looked at her and she had her eyes closed and I asked her if she was alright but she just fell to the ground. We watched her have some sort of fit and then Ron went to get Snape, we didn't want to risk moving her incase she was hurt. He carried her to the infirmary once she woke up." 

"And she's said nothing since the question she asked upon waking up?"

"No sir." Ginny replied. She looked at Elara who still looked distant. She hugged her tighter and kissed her forehead. 

"What do you think is wrong with her sir?" Harry asked, worried. 

"She seems to have gone into shock." Dumbledore responded. 

"I haven't gone into shit." Elara muttered, looking down at the ground angrily. Everyone looked surprised, possibly that she cursed to Dumbledore, possibly that she spoke at all. She looked up. 

"Where's Barty Crouch Jr?" Elara repeated. 

"Why are you asking about him?" Dumbledore asked. Elara scoffed

"Why are you avoiding the question?" 

"I'm not avoiding the question Mrs. Malfoy."

"Then answer it." 

Dumbledore took a deep breath. 

"We don't know." 

"What do you mean you don't know?" Draco asked, stopping in his place from where he had been pacing and turning towards Dumbledore. 

"I mean exactly that Mr. Malfoy. As of one hour ago, Barty Crouch Jr. has once again escaped from Azkaban."

"Great." Elara muttered angrily. "Just fucking great."


	7. 6th year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Elara." A voice laughed. 
> 
> Elara turned to see Bellatrix in the bushes. 
> 
> "You chose to stand against us! Wrong choice!" She told her. 
> 
> Elara smirked. 
> 
> "Depends on where you're standing."

"You think they'll find him?" Ginny asked worriedly, sitting across from her girlfriend. They had left Dumbledore's office and now they were all sitting in the room of requirement. 

"No." Elara said simply. 

"What?" Harry asked "You don't think they'll catch him." 

Elara looked up from the fire whiskey she had been drinking and breathed heavily. 

"He escaped once and got caught. He's not gonna leave the safety of the Malfoy house until he knows no one is looking for him and he won't be caught." 

"You think he'll be at our house?" 

"We live at Grimmauld and I don't imagine he will go there however, Malfoy manor he will. That's the safest place." 

"Technically, after dad dies, as the only remaining Malfoy's it'll become ours." Draco informed her before sowing the rest of his fire whiskey and pouring himself another, shuddering and the burning in his throat.

"We aren't Malfoy's, not anymore. You're a Potter. I'm a Weasley." Elara replied. Ginny stood up and moved over to her girlfriend. She smiled and kissed her before sitting down next to Elara, facing her, her legs lying over Elara's. 

"We'd be happy to have you." Ron smiled before turning to Draco. "Both of you." 

Harry grabbed Draco's hand. 

"She said I was a Potter." Draco replied. 

"Harry has been a part of our family for 6 years. Knowing how much he loves you, you'll be coming to Christmas dinner this year. My mother will make you a Weasley the minute she's sees you." Ron laughed. Draco smiled at the thought. 

"I never thought I'd like the idea of being apart of your family." Draco said, smiling. Ron finished his fire whiskey and set down the glass. Then he looked at Draco and began to speak. 

"Me neither, but the world doesn't seem to want to go along with our plans and for once I'm happy about that." 

The world was good, even if only just  a moment.  
________________________________

Elara stepped off of the train and smiled as she looked at her godfather. She ran forward and leaped into his arms.

"Sirius!" She exclaimed. Sirius squeezed her tight. 

"Hello love." He replied, smiling back at her. She pulled away and stepped back, allowing Harry and Draco to hug him as well.

"How have you managed to look more like a felon since your exoneration?" Elara joked. Sirius raised his eyebrows. 

"You've got no room to talk Malfoy. You look like shit." He joked back. Elara smiled and then kissed his forehead. 

"I will always look better than you Padfoot, always."

Sirius stuck his tongue out at Elara and Elara rolled her eyes in response. 

"Elara!" She heard. Elara turned and looked over in the direction of her name being called.

"Ms. Weasley." Elara muttered, smiling and walking towards her. Molly pulled Elara in tightly for a hug, Elara towering over her. Elara squeezed back. 

"Thank heavens you're alright, Ginny told us about you passing out and everything with Barty Crouch Jr. We've been worried about all of you." Molly said, pulling back. Elara smiled at her. 

"It's okay Molly. He won't do anything at Hogwarts considering what happened last time he was there and he won't know where Harry is over the breaks. Harry is the one he would be after." 

"Still best to be safe." 

Elara smiled until Molly turned. A frown overtook her face and all she could think of was how there is no way to ensure safety anymore. 

"El?" Ginny asked. Elara smiled at her. 

"Yeah?"

"You okay love?" She asked. Elara pushed the hair out of Ginny's face and kissed her forehead. 

Elara had been lying about her well being a lot lately. 

She's fine. 

Her head didn't hurt. 

Her her ears weren't ringing. 

Her world wasn't shattering. 

She's fine. 

She's fine. 

She's fine.

"I'm fine"  
________________________________

Elara woke up practically screaming. Her breathing was heavy and erratic. Her ears were ringing. 

She had the dream again, the one she hadn't mentioned to her family. The one she had been having since the escape of Barty. 

He was in her head. She could feel him in her head, the dark lord. Her arm was burning. She wanted to cut it off. She wanted the mark gone. 

She hated it. 

"Elara?" Ginny asked, rubbing her eyes. Elara looked over at her. 

"Sorry I woke you love. Just a bad dream. I'm gonna go get tea to calm my nerves then I'll be right back. Go back to sleep." Elara told her. Ginny nodded her head. Elara kissed her forehead and then stepped out of the room.  
She made her way down the stairs quietly and began making a cup of tea. 

"Morning." Sirius muttered from the living room. Elara jumped in her place and hen turned. 

"Are you trying to give me a fucking heart attack? God arsehole." She laughed. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"You making tea?" He asked. 

"Yeah, want a cup?" She asked him, turning to look at him sit on the couch. 

"Yeah. Sure. Might help me sleep." 

"You aren't sleeping?" Elara asked. Sirius frowned and shook his head. 

"No. I can't sleep. I keep having this shit feeling that something bad is going to happen." Sirius replied 

"I feel the same." Elara said, putting a tea bag into a mug and then beginning to pour hot water over it 

"So why are you awake at-" he paused  for a moment, Elara guessed so he could look at the clock. "4:47 in the morning?"

"Had a nightmare, needed tea to help calm me down." 

"Wanna tell me what your nightmare was about?" Sirius asked. Elara looked at him and took a deep breath. 

"It's my mother. I keep watching her murder." 

"Mercy! Please! Let Draco go!" 

"And Lucius is in tears, and My mother is screaming." 

"Please! Mercy! My boy!" 

"But the keep cutting and stabbing and she keeps crying." 

"MERCY!"

"And then she's dead" Elara told him. She looked as if she was vacant, and she had no emotion behind her eyes. Sirius gripped her tighter. 

"You're stronger than anyone I've ever known." He said finally. He didn't know how else to comfort her. He wished he could say it was just a dream and it was all over but this wasn't the first time her heard her wake in the middle of the night and he was sure it wouldn't be her last. All he could do was tell her the truth, what he was sure of and currently that's what he had to offer. 

"It'll be pointless to go to bed now, everyone will be up in an hour and a half." Sirius told her as she handed him a mug. She took a few sips and then set it down on the table next to the couch before sitting down and curling into him. "Merry Christmas Elara." 

Elara yawned, and then she felt Sirius pull the blanket over her. 

"Merry Christmas dad." 

And she was asleep before she even knew what she said.  
________________________________

"Elara, baby, wake up." Ginny muttered. Elara opened her eyes and looked at her girlfriend. 

"What time is it?" She asked. 

"About six thirty, everyone is ready to open presents. I brought you a new cuppa because yours was cold. Also I brought you a piece of cake from dinner last night" 

"Wow, thank you love." Elara said, smiling. 

"You're welcome." 

Elara sat up and saw Sirius, curled into Remus, smiling happily. She scooted to the edge of the couch and pulled the blanket up so Ginny could sit on her lap. She then wrapped the blanket around them. 

Harry's head was in Draco's lap and he was throwing a ball in the air. Hermione sat with Ron, laughing as he was beating her at Wizards chess. Tonks sat with her new fiancé, some man she knew from school that she began dating after she discovered the relationship between Sirius and Remus. The twins were eating candy with Arthur. 

They were just waiting for Molly. 

It was a moment before they saw her emerge from the stairs. 

"Elara, it came. It's not late." She buzzed happily. 

Elara's smile brightened and she nodded her head. 

"Can I grab it in a moment, after everyone else's gifts?" She asked. 

"Yes dear, it's in my top dresser drawer." 

"What is?" Ginny asked. 

"Your Christmas gift." Elara replied. 

And then they began opening their presents. Elara got a sweater and candy and a new broom from Sirius and Remus. That was the biggest present she got which she didn't mind. She loved everything she got equally.

"Okay. So for your gift." Ginny said to Elara. 

"But I need to give you your gift." Elara replied. 

"Okay. We go get them at the same time and give them at the same time." Ginny replied. 

"Yeah. Okay."

Elara made her way to up to Mollys room and opened the drawer. She smiled and grabbed the small box. Then she descended the stairs again. She walked into a the living room.  

"She's not back yet?" Elara asked. Sirius shook his head. Elara nodded and then took a deep breath 

"Hey." Sirius said to her. Elara turned her head. "Good luck kid." 

"Good luck for what?" Ron asked. Draco, Harry, Sirius, Arthur, and Molly knew what was about to happen and everyone else was in the dark. Elara looked ahead and then saw the love of her life emerge from the stairway. Elara smiled. 

"Hey you." She said. Ginny smiled. 

"Hey yourself" she replied. She came and stood in front of her. Elara took a deep breath

"Who goes first?" Elara asked. 

"Go together, seriously, this isn't that big a deal." Tonks laughed. Elara smiled. 

"Yeah. Okay. Together." 

She handed Ginny the small jewelry box and Ginny gave her one in return. 

"Open on three?" Ginny asked. Elara nodded her head but neither began counting. After a moment, Sirius rolled his eyes, laughing and began to speak. 

"One." Sirius said. 

"Two." It was Draco this time, Harry too. Elara smiled and then she whispered the last number. 

"Three." 

Ginny and her both opened the boxes. Sitting in Elara's box was a small silver ring with three small jewels on it. Elara recognized it immediately and looked over at Mollys finger to see it missing. Molly covered her mouth to keep herself from crying, failing about as miserably as Elara was. 

"I wanted you to have it, because if anyone deserves it any one you. There is no one I would rather any of my kids marry and nevertheless my daughter."  Molly told her. Elara smiled through her tears. 

Ginny's ring was older, but just as clean. Ginny had seen it before but she couldn't tell from where. What she did know was Elara didn't just pick it out from the store. 

Time was frozen.  

"It was your grandmothers, on your dad's side. He gave it to me after I asked if I could marry you. I had to have it cleaned and resized. I was afraid it wouldn't get here in time but it did." 

"So that's a good answer. We give each other rings then that's a good indication that we both will say yes." 

"Wait. Before you say that, Ginevra Weasley?"

"Elara Malfoy?"

And then they spoke in sync. 

"Will you marry me?" 

Neither said yes because neither had to. Elara smiled and kissed Ginny. When she pulled back Ginny was beaming. She placed the ring on her finger and Ginny did the same. 

"Well that was unexpected." Ron muttered. 

"Way to ruin the moment Weasley." Draco replied. Ginny laughed and Elara beamed before turning to look at her brother 

"Nah. He didn't ruin a thing."  
________________________________

"Your shoe is untied." Ginny muttered. Harry looked at her and she smiled before tying his shoe. 

"Thank you." 

Elara looked out with window and then she saw the fire. 

"Harry." Elara whispered. "It's her." 

Bellatrix had tried to kill people they loved and she was a monster. She represented everything Elara hated about her family and She just couldn't take it anymore. 

She took off spring down the stairs and then jumped between the people in the door way. 

"Elara!" Sirius yelled as she jumped through the flames. And then Draco and and Harry. Ginny tried but her mother held her back. 

Elara was sure some grownup must have followed but she didn't care. She wanted to kill her. She tortured Ginny, became the source of her fiancés nightmares for months, was the source of her own for years. 

She wanted her dead. 

"Elara!" Remus screamed 

"Harry!" This was Draco 

"Draco!" Harry screamed back. And then she heard Arthur screaming all of their names. And then Sirius. He was screaming the names loudest of them all. 

"Elara." A voice laughed. 

Elara tuned to see Bellatrix in the bushes. 

"You chose to stand against us! Wrong choice!" She told her. 

Elara smirked. 

"Depends on where you're standing." 

Then the curses began flying. Elara was blocking them left and right. And then Harry was helping. Then Draco. Then Arthur, Sirius, Remus, Tonks. They were standing in a circle protecting one another. 

Before the fire that is. 

"Molly." Arthur muttered. Elara's heart stopped. She began sprinting faster then she had before towards the house. 

"GINNY!" She screamed. She was sprinting so fast her breath had stopped. She emerged through the weeds to see everyone staring outside. Ginny was singed but not badly hurt. 

"Ginny!" Elara called out. Ginny turned. 

"Elara." She cried. She ran towards her fiancée and Elara caught Ginny in her arms. Ginny cried and Elara held her, never daring to let go. 

"It's gone El." She cried. 

"I know baby." Elara soothed, rubbing her back. 

"My home is gone." Ginny continued. 

"I know."


	8. 6th year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Elara?" 
> 
> This was Pansy walking into their room, shaking, bleeding, and crying. Elara stood up immediately and walked over to her. She pulled her into a hug and let her cry, and walked backwards a bit so they were sitting, moving Ginny towards the other side of the bed so Elara was in between. 
> 
> "I need help." Pansy said, shaking. Elara looked at her and then around the room. Ron was on the floor with Hermione, and they had stopped taking. Draco and Harry had been sitting on their bed together, Crookshanks sitting next to them. Ginny had been lying down next to her fiancé, that was until Pansy walked in crying.

The night was long. Ginny had spent the whole time tossing and turning and then waking up from a nightmare. Grimmuald place was crowded and Elara couldn't help but hate that they were all there. 

The fire at the burrow had grown large but as the only one powerful enough to use wandless magic with no effort, Elara felt it was on her to save all she could. 

She used almost all of her strength to stop the fire but by the time she could, the top floors above where the fire had started in the center of the house, and then center floors themselves of course, were burned beyond recognition. Elara, with the help of everyone else, had saved the base of the house. 

The only thing people could save of their stuff was anything left below the bedrooms. This included all of the Christmas gifts but those didn't seem to much matter anymore anyways. 

"No!" Ginny screamed. Elara opened her eyes and looked over at Ginny. 

"Baby?" Elara asked. Ginny looked at her and her lips quivered. 

"I'm sorry." She said. Elara smiled sadly at her and then got out of the bed. 

"Come here." Elara said, holding her hand out towards her fiancé. 

"Where are we going?" She asked. Elara smiled. 

"You'll see, just come along." 

Ginny took her hand and quietly followed her out of the room. Elara stopped in the kitchen and put water on the stove. 

"Did you make me get out of bed for tea?" Ginny asked. Elara smiled. 

"No. but honestly you weren't going back to sleep and you know it so don't act like I'm depriving you. Just wait a minute. I want tea and you sure as hell could use it." Elara muttered. 

"Okay. That's true. I'll be patient." Ginny promised. Elara smiled. 

"You better be. That was the third time you woke me up in one night." Elara joked. Ginny smiled sadly and Elara bent down and kissed her on the forehead. They sat in silence until Elara had finished pouring the tea and she then lead Ginny outside. 

She sat down under a tree and Ginny sat down next to here 

"What are we doing here?" She asked. Elara's legs were out in front of her. Ginny sat down her tea and then she lied down on Elara lap. Elara stroaked her hair. 

"I love it out here. It's calm. And the moons are here." She paused and looked down at Ginny who furrowed her brows. "No one understands how much they mean to me. The moons are the reason I am who I am. The stars make me, me. I love them. And you can't see my moon from where we are, considering it's by Jupiter but it's beautiful nonetheless. I love the moon I was named after and the person my moon was named after isn't half bad either. 

Elara was a mortal princess, the daughter of King Orchomenus and mother of the giant Tityos. 

Zeus fell in love with Elara and hid her from his wife Hera's jealousy by placing her deep beneath the Earth. This was where she gave birth to Tityos, a giant who is sometimes said to be-" Elara looked down to see Ginny, sleeping soundly. She smiled and then kissed her forehead. 

"Goodnight my love." 

And she looked at the moon where she fell asleep next her fiancé, Ginny's tea cold and Elara's tea gone.  
________________________________

"Girls." Sirius muttered through the door he cracked open. 

"Yeah?" Elara replied, continuing to fold one of her shirts. 

"You decent?" 

"Yes, Sirius. We are." Elara told him. He then proceeded to open the door all the way. Elara closed her trunk and pulled it off is the bed onto the ground. 

"Elara, I was wondering if we could talk before we all have to leave?" 

"Yeah sure." Elara said. She leaned over and kissed Ginny and then she followed Sirius out of the room. "What's up?" 

"Two things are. First, I wanted to talk about Harry." 

"What about him?" Elara was worried. 

"Well, Dumbledore has ordered me to send him back to the Dursley's for the summer and they agreed to take him." Elara went to interject but Sirius stopped her. "It's only for a few months and I don't like it either but he has some sort of blood protection there. He already agree to do it. Draco reluctantly agreed and now, you're the only one left." He told her. Elara took a deep breath. 

"He'll be safe?" She asked after a moment.  

"If he isn't, you can go get him yourself." Sirius replied. Elara frowned very nodded her head. 

"Okay. Fine." She replied. Sirius smiled sadly and she could tell he didn't like the plan either. 

"As for the next discussion. The other day, Christmas morning on the couch at the Weasley's, you said something to me." 

"Oh no, what was it?" 

"Nothing bad. You just called me dad. I wondered if maybe you wanted to call me that permanently?" He asked. Elara stood still for a moment before launching herself into his arms. 

"Yes. I do. I love you so much." 

Sirius hugged back. 

"I love you too kid. More than you know"  
________________________________

A few days before school started, Harry, Elara, and Draco took out Ginny and Ron and bought them new clothes and new robes and any school things that needed replacement so that they wouldn't be lost in school. It wasn't cheap but the three of them put together were billionaires. Harry's original fortune from his parents and grandparents, Draco's bank vault, and Elara's bank vault, in which they had changed their keys and transferred all of their money into new vaults after there abandonment, and the money they had inherited from there mom, they would never run out of money no matter how  hard they tried. 

And then Sirius had his family money, which is how he paid for the house to be rebuilt. 

It wasn't done yet of course but it would be by the time school was ended. Molly and Arthur had felt bad that people were paying for their stuff but after all their family had done and sacrificed, honestly, it was the least they could do. 

Elara wished she could do more but after what would happen in a few months, she would begin to wish she could do nothing at all.  
________________________________

A few months after Christmas their year was almost over. They were all sitting in Draco, Elara, Harry, and Ginny's room when there was a light knock. The door opened. 

"Elara?" 

This was Pansy walking into their room, shaking, bleeding, and crying. Elara stood up immediately and walked over to her. She pulled her into a hug and let her cry, and walked backwards a bit so they were sitting, moving Ginny towards the other side of the bed so Elara was in between. 

"I need help." Pansy said, shaking. Elara looked at her and then around the room. Ron was on the floor with Hermione, and they had stopped taking. Draco and Harry had been sitting on their bed together, Crookshanks sitting next to them. Ginny had been lying down next to her fiancé, that was until Pansy walked in crying. 

"Help?" Elara asked, worried. "Is someone after you? What's going on?"

Pansy pulled back a bit. She looked at the the door and Elara knew what she was saying without her having to say it. Elara shut the door without getting up from her bed. Pansy then looked back at the group of people. She took a shuddering deep breath, then she closed her eyes and pulled up her sleeve. 

The room was still. 

Residing on her forearm was the dark mark which was covered in cuts, scars and what Elara could only guess were cigarette burns. Pansy sobbed as she held her sleeve up and Elara covered her mouth, unable to keep the heartbroken tears back. 

"Oh my god." She muttered. Ginny wrapped her arms around Elara from behind. 

Draco stood slowly and stopped in front of her. She didn't know what he was going to do, no one did. 

He stood for another moment before leaning down and kissing her forehead. Then he kneeled down and pulled her sleeve down so the mark was covered again. 

"You're safe. With us you will always be safe." He told her. She shook her head. 

"I'm not safe. I'm never safe. The dark lord wants me to kill a man but I don't want to. I don't want to kill him." 

Elara moved her way out of Ginny's arms and moved closer to Pansy, holding Ginny's hand now for reassurance that she was still there. 

"Kill who Pans?"

"Professor Dumbledore. I've been watching him and he's already dying of some curse but that doesn't change anything. I don't want to kill him. I don't want to kill anyone." Pansys voice was shaky. Elara grabbed Pansy's face and touched their foreheads. 

"Listen to me. I promise you you won't have to do anything that monster says ever again. Ever. I will never let him hurt you again." 

"Really?" She asked. Elara nodded her head as the tears fell. 

"Really." 

The room moved again.  
________________________________

Elara wrote to Sirius the moment everyone fell asleep in her and Draco's room. 

Dad, 

We have taken another stray, not that you didn't have enough. I'll explain more later. I was wondering if you would be willing to come to Hogwarts tomorrow in the morning, around 11:30. I will be in Dumbledores office at that time with the others and Pansy. I'll explain all of this tomorrow just be there and bring Remus if you don't mind. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow. 

Love,  
Elara Black

Now all she had to do was convince them that her plan would work.  
________________________________

"Professor Dumbledore!" Elara shouted down the mostly empty hallway. He turned swiftly to face her. 

"Ms. Malfoy." He looked behind her to see Pansy, Ginny, Draco, Ron, Harry, and Hermione following. "You've added another to your group I see. How can I help you?"

"We need to speak with you in your office immediately. Sirius and Remus are probably already there now. It's urgent." 

Dumbledore studied her face and then nodded his head. 

"Very well. Follow me." 

The seven of the followed him to his office and up the stairs past the griffin. She walked through the door and saw Remus sitting in a chair and Sirius pacing behind it 

"Dad." She said. He smile and walked towards her. 

"Elara." He replied, pulling her in for a hug. She smiled. 

"Hey dad." Draco said. Sirius turned and hugged him. And then he turned to Harry and hugged them. 

"Sirius." 

Harry hadn't wanted to call him dad. He had a father who loved him. Sirius knew that and that's how he liked it. Harry was his in their own way. 

Elara moved forward and hugged Remus, who was practically shaking. 

"You scared us. Whats going on, why are we here?" He asked. She pulled back and then turned to Dumbledore. 

"That curse on your hand is incurable. I stayed up all last night studying it from knowing what it looked like and from what Pans told me." She said. He nodded his head because he knew what she knew. "I know you're willing to die for the cause but I'm not willing to let Pansy be the one to kill you and I'm afraid, as much as I love him and he's my godfather, I don't trust Snape as much as I should. I've seen him play both parts, spy for us and spy for them. They are both convincing but I don't even know if he knows what side he is on anymore." 

"Ms. Malfoy-"

"Black. Ms black if you don't mind." 

"Okay, Ms Black. Are you suggesting what I believe you are?" 

She turned to her dad's. 

"We're taking in Pansy. After what's is going to happen in a few days she will be a target and our home is safest." 

"What's going to happen?" Sirius asked. 

"Pansy had been ordered to kill professor Dumbledore but she doesn't want to and I'm not going to let her. Which is why I'm going to kill him." 

"What?!" Sirius shouted. 

"Dad. Listen. I have a plan. It's a smart plan and the start of it involves killing him. I wouldn't do it if he wasn't already dying but by the looks of his hand he's got about a week to live at the most. I need you to trust me." She told him. Sirius stood for a second before Remus grabbed his hand. He looked at Remus then back at her. 

"I trust you." 

Elara turned to Dumbledore. 

"And you sir?" She asked, referring to his thoughts on the matter. 

"Ms. Black, I've trusted you from the moment you saved Ginny Weasley from a bleak existence in your second year. You love her, you would never betray her or your family, and by family I mean the one you choose to be a part of and choose to go by. You are good in every sense of the word, even when you loose control. Not many people can claim a quality of such magnitude. I trust you more than I trust Severus, because you care and you let that control you, not guilt. You are an exceptional woman, and I'm glad to have gotten to know you." 

Elara knew he was saying this because it was what she needed to hear, all of it, and if anyone was going to kill him he was glad it was her. Elara nodded her head and wiped away the tear in her cheek. There was a moments pause. 

"So." Draco began, looking at Elara. "What exactly is your plan?" 

Elara looked up and smiled sadly. 

"It's dangerous." She said. Draco smirked at her. 

"You wouldn't have it any other way." 

He had never been more right.


	9. 6th year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Elara. Please." He said. She knew he was saying it's okay. He needed her to do this, he was ready to go. He was ready for her to kill him. 
> 
> But she wasn't. 
> 
> "Elara. You can do this. Kill him." Ginny said. She sounded like she was egging her on but Elara knew she was just making sure she could do it. The world slowed almost to a stop. Elara could hear her breathing slow, in fact it was all she could hear at all. 
> 
> "Avada Kedavra."

Elara had changed her mind but she knew there was no going back. No matter how hard she tried there was no going back. Up above her stood the scene she was about to interrupt. Then, beside her, under the invisibility cloak was her family. The people she loved, excluding Ginny who was holding her hand. Draco and Harry were cursed by Dumbledore, unbeknownst to Elara, so they couldn't move until it was over. So they couldn't stop it. 

There was no going back now. 

Elara ascended the stairs and took a deep breath, Ginny following. She twirled her ring on her finger one last time. Then they emerged through the opening. 

"Expelliarmus." Elara said calmly, trying to ignore the horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. Pansy's wand flew out of her hand and she looked over at the girls in the darkness. Dumbledore stood, wand in hand, looking at them with a calm, almost loving expression. Elara's breath hitched. 

"Evening Elara, Ginevra. Lovely night isn't it?" He asked. Elara smiled sadly at him. 

"Yes. It is." She replied. 

That's when Bellatrix appeared, the Carrows, Fenir, and Barty Crouch Jr. following. 

And Lucius. 

"I've been wondering when you would come out of hiding Barty." Elara spoke calmly. 

"Elara. What are you doing?" Lucius asked. Elara looked at him, smiling sadly and then looked at Ginny

"Getting myself killed." She muttered. Ginny chuckled sadly at the memory. 

"You sure are." Bellatrix said, and just as she was going to curse Elara, Ginny turned. 

"Expelliarmus!" Ginny shouted. Dumbledores wand flew into her hand.

"Well well well." Bella laughed. "What a strange turn of events! The mudblood lover helping us get rid of you." 

"It is indeed." Dumbledore agreed. 

"Shut up, no one was speaking to you." Bella spat angrily, pointing her wand at him. 

"Put your wand down you incompetent fool." Elara said. Bella looked at her in surprise. 

"Excuse me?" She asked, lowering her wand out of surprise. Elara ignored her and looked at Dumbledore, her wand pointed at him, Ginny's raised all the same. Bella opened her mouth so Elara threw her hand back, a silencing charm falling over the crowd behind her. 

"Elara. Please." He said. She knew he was saying it's okay. He needed her to do this, he was ready to go. He was ready for her to kill him. 

But she wasn't. 

"Elara. You can do this. Kill him." Ginny said. She sounded like she was egging her on but Elara knew she was just making sure she could do it. The world slowed almost to a stop. Elara could hear her breathing slow, in fact it was all she could hear at all. 

"Avada Kedavra." 

Dumbledore was sent back in a spiraling motion and he was thrown through the railing. Elara ran and looked down. He looked as if he was reaching to grip something, stop his fall, but he was already dead. 

Elara knew that. 

The silencing charm was broken behind her, probably because her concentration was lost. 

Bellatrix threw a dark mark into the air, screaming happily and laughing at the darkness taking over the before starry sky. 

The group began running down the stairs and towards the forest except for Bella who turned towards her niece. 

"Well done Elara." Bella said, moving towards her "Welcome back to the-" 

Elara grabbed the front of her dress and pushed her towards the edge of the tower. 

"I think you need to keep in mind that I'm in charge now, not you, and you don't welcome me back to my home." She looked at Ginny. "I think she needs to be taught a lesson." 

"I think she does." Ginny replied. 

The red in Elara's eyes was internal but Bella could see it. 

Elara could kill her. She could end her miserable life right then and there. It would be so easy. One push and she was gone. 

And yet that seemed to easy. 

Elara wanted to see the light leave her eyes. Elara lifted her wand, bringing it up to Bellatrix's throat. 

She threw Bella down behind her. She pointed her wand at Bellatrix. 

"Crucio!" She shouted. Bellatrix writhed in pain and Elara held it, shaking in anger. 

"Baby, we have to go before they realize we were here." She told her. Elara looked at her and nodded her head. 

"Yeah. Okay." Elara muttered. Ginny began running down the stairs and Elara followed, running towards the courtyard. They ran into the group of people and everyone seemed to make a pathway. Elara stopped running, finally out of view of the death eater and therefore she no longer had to be strong and okay with what was happening. She walked slowly towards Dumbledores body. 

Every step seemed to echo. 

Elara made it closer and closer and her chest began to close, her breathing becoming erratic. 

She finally stepped completely through the crowd and stopped. She looked at his body and the tears started. 

"Elara?" Ginny asked. Elara looked at her and then back his body. She looked back and forth, her mouth open as if she was going to speak but the only that came out were sobs. Elara began to fall and Ginny ran up to her and caught her from behind, her arm wrapped around her chest. Elara's hands grabbed onto Ginny's arms and her sobs began to resonate through the courtyard. 

"It's okay. I've got you. I'll never let go again. I promise." 

If you were wondering what broke everyone's heart more, Elara's sobs turned into screaming. 

This affected her more than she had thought it would. She had killed this man, taken his life and launched him over the edge. 

She was the reason all of these people were mourning. 

Mcgonagall was the first to care about the mark slithering on the midnight sky. She stood solemnly and raised her wand. Many followed but the mark stayed. Pansy raised hers and Draco, Harry. Elara took a few deep breaths and Ginny sat her on the ground lightly before raising her wand like the rest. Elara stood up slowly. She looked up at the sky and then she wiped her hand across the skyline, watching as the mark burned and blew apart into the clouds, the moon finally shining through. She then proceeded to look at Dumbledore and then sit down next to him. She placed her hands on top of his. 

The world was in mourning. 

Albums Dumbledore was dead and Elara Black was the one who killed him. 

The plan had begun.   
________________________________

"The minute you die the working of Hogwarts will fall into the hands of Professor Snape, an I correct?" Elara asked, looking at the headmaster. 

"Yes. You are. He's trusted within Voldemorts ranks and it will be easier to raise him up to headmaster than it will be to appoint someone new. Voldemort will know this when he takes over." 

"So anyone Pureblood he believes will come over to his side is the best off within the school?" 

"I imagine that will be the case." 

"So that will be me."

"What?" Sirius asked "Absolutely not. Have someone else do it" 

"Have who do it dad? Draco is the chosen ones boyfriend, openly. Pansy dark mark is so cut and burned you can't even really tell that's what it is anymore so he will never believe she wants to be there. Hermione is muggleborn. Ron and Ginny are like siblings to Harry, they know he will never go against him. Harry is the fucking chosen one himself, so who exactly does that leave? Oh right, me. It leaves me. There is no one else." 

"I'll go with her." Ginny said. 

"Ginny did you hear what I just said, he will never believe-" 

"He will if I kill Dumbledore with you. He'd be smart enough to know I'll do anything for you. He'll believe it." 

"Ginny." Ron said, as if she had just spat poison. 

"What, Ginny, no." 

"Elara, you are not doing this alone. This will give us the chance to work together and keep each other safe. Also we can be together and you can still wear your ring. They hate mudblood and mudblood lovers, not gays. We can do this okay?" 

"Your mom will kill me if I let you do this." 

"No. she won't. She'll kill me." Ginny replied. Elara looked down at the ground. 

"He will make you take the mark, he won't trust you if you don't." Elara told her. Ginny stood up and walked over to her. 

"I know." She said, grabbing her hands. "But if you still love me then that's all that matters." 

"Ginny." 

"Baby, this is my choice. I'm going to do this. Like I said, he's smart, he knows I'll do anything for you, anything at all. It will work." 

And the plan was set in motion.   
________________________________

Elara hadn't really been sleeping. She knew she wasn't going home to her dad, but she was going to hell with her father. The worst part was she was taking Ginny with her. 

Molly had argued and argued with Ginny, and she had threatened to lock her up, Elara offered to help, but they knew Ginny was going and there was no stopping her. 

Elara had thought Molly would be mad, like she should have done more to stop her, but Molly knew the woman she raised. 

No one could have stopped her. 

She knew Hogwarts wasn't going to be Hogwarts next year, not without Harry or Draco. Not without Hermione or Ron. 

Not without Dumbledore. 

His office felt empty without him in it, abandoned, heartless. 

She wished she could go back in time. She wished she hadn't of done this. She wished she could go home this summer and spend it with her dad before her impending death on the right side. 

Her sixth year was over, and so was her life.   
________________________________

"Elara, Ms. Weasley, I've been asked to bring you to the manor." Snape said. Elara looked over at him. She could tell he knew what was happening. She could also tell that the minute she got there she would be tortured for her insolence. She was okay with that as long as Ginny was spared and she would be. 

He was always sparing to the new people until they messed up. 

And they always messed up. 

Elara nodded her head and grabbed Ginny's hand. She followed Snape out of the castle and through the gates and then, with the snapping sound, she disapperated, dragging Ginny with her. 

When they arrived they looked around the dark surroundings. 

"It's about as dark as I remember." Elara muttered. 

"It's not. It's darker inside. I promise, it's haunting, especially without her here." Snape responded. Elara nodded, knowing what he meant. "Follow me." 

"Oh, are you escorting me through my own home?" Elara asked. 

"It's not the home you remember Elara. I promise you that." Snape told her. She frowned. 

"Yeah." 

They walked through the gate and then the front door and he led them through the front hallway and up the stairs towards the dining room. 

He was right, this wasn't the home she remembered but he was wrong, she didn't need a guide. She knew this house inside and out even without the light on. 

She stepped the final step and Ginny stopped. 

"Ginny?" Elara asked. 

"This is frightening, that's all. Knowing what's about to happen is frightening." She said, breathing deeply. 

"You can go back." Elara told her, grabbing both sides of her face and looking her in the eyes. "I'll take you back matter how much trouble it causes" 

Ginny shook her head. 

"No. I'm here, with you. That's all I need. I can do this. We both can." She said. Elara nodded her head. 

"Yes. We can." Elara assured her, kissing her on the lips. "We've got this." 

"Girls, he's ready. We need to go in now." 

"Yeah. We're good. We're coming." 

Ginny stepped up to the floor and Snape opened the door. 

In the dining room was all of the deatheaters sitting around a long table. Elara looked at the two empty spots next her father, where her and her mother used to sit and where Draco probably sat when she left. She gulped and swallowed back her tears. 

"Elara, how nice of you to join us." Voldemort said, standing up. 

"Thank you my lord." She replied. She remembered the manners. She would never forget. 

"How long it's been since your betrayal?" He asked. Elara looked at him. 

"A little over a year." She replayed. Voldemort nodded and was quiet for a moment. 

"I've almost since forgotten." He told her. 

"I haven't my lord." She replied. Ginny squeezed Elara hand. Voldemort turned toward Lucius. 

"Lucius." He ordered. 

"Yes my lord?" He replied, looking up from the table he had previously been looking at. 

"Why don't you go set your daughters fiancé up in Elara's room while Elara gets reacquainted with the rest of us." He told him. Lucius nodded his head, knowing better than to argue. 

"Of course my lord." He replied. Lucius stood up from the table and pointed his hands towards the hallways leading to Elara's wing. "Right this way Ms. Weasley." 

"What?" She asked, looking over at Elara. Elara smiled sadly at her. 

"It's okay love. Go. I'll meet you there soon." Elara assured her. Ginny gave her a pleading look. Elara leaned over and kissed her. "It's I'll be okay. Just follow him, take a shower, eat, change. Get ready for dinner tonight, I'll meet you there as soon as I can." 

Ginny finally nodded her head but Elara could see the fear in her eyes. Elara leaned and kissed Ginny's forehead. She squeezed her hand reassuringly one last time and then she let go. Ginny walked towards the hallways. Voldemort turned back towards her. Elara threw up a silencing charm around her room. 

"Trying to make it so she can't hear?" He asked. 

"No my lord. I'm trying to make it so I can't hear her screaming and banging on the door." 

"Take it off." He ordered. Elara took a deep breath and brought it down. 

Then the screaming began.

No one could tell who's screaming was louder, Elara's or Ginny's. 

The cruciatus curse hurt Elara deeply, the cuts were just as bad but they weren't what hurt the most. She had tried to contain her screams as long as possible, trying to evade the worst pain but it was no use. 

A few seconds after she lost the grip on her tongue was when Ginny began to cry. And then she began to scream too. And then she tried to open the door but it was no use. She was trapped. 

Elara was screaming but she didn't cry.  When he finally stopped Elara looked up. 

"I think that is sufficient enough pain for your betrayal, considering you did us a great service to make up. Go get ready for dinner, it's a very special night."

"Special, my lord?" She asked. 

"For your fiancé. It's her dinner and ceremony." 

Elara's heart ached and her bones went stiff but she nodded nonetheless.

"Yes, my lord." 

Ginevera Weasley was about to officially become a deatheater. 

Elara had never been more sick in her life.


	10. 6th year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You look stunning Elara. Your mother would be so proud of who you've become and what you're doing."
> 
> He wasn't speaking of her being on their side but he was speaking of her being in the on the opposite

Elara opened her door and looked around the room. She found no sign of Ginny until she heard the noise from the bathroom.

"Baby?" She called. She continued towards the bathroom and walked through the doorway to see Ginny, hunched over the toilet, vomiting. 

"Oh honey." She muttered, rushing forward. She walked to the sink and put water on a cloth and then she walked to Ginny. She sat down behind her and pulled Ginny away from the toilet. She flushed it and then began washing Ginny's face with the cloth. 

"I hate it here. I hate what they do to you." She said. Elara smiled sadly at her and kissed her forehead. 

"I know baby. I'm sorry. I tried to control the screaming, I tried not to hurt you but I couldn't. I'm sorry." Elara apologized. Ginny looked up at her. 

"No. You don't get to be sorry because it's not your fault." 

Elara stood up and reached her hand out to Ginny. She took it and stood up, the walked to the sink and began brushing her teeth. Elara wrapped her arms around Ginny from behind and Ginny brushed her toothbrush along her tongue, attempting to rid the taste of vomit from her mouth. 

"You and I can talk about that later but right now we have to get ready." Elara told her. Ginny spit out the toothpaste and then garbled water. Elara pulled gum from her pocket. 

"For what?" Ginny asked, taking a piece and beginning to chew it. 

"Your dinner." Elara replied. Ginny took a deep breath. 

"It's happening tonight isn't it?"

"Yes. It is. I can't stop it." 

"I know." She paused. "What do I need to wear?" 

"Black tie. I'll grab you something from my closet." Elara said

"Elara I can't wear things from your closet, they all cost more than my entire wardrobe collectively." Ginny told her. Elara stopped. 

"Ginevra Weasley, you are going to be my wife, if you think that what's mine isn't going to be yours, you are insane. You can wear anything of mine you want. You can use any of my fortune you need to. You can take anything you find interesting. At anytime. Understand? You will never have to struggle to find money ever again. Ever." Elara's voice had deepened into a very serious tone. More serious than before 

And Ginny's lips were on hers. Elara noted the minty flavor and then smirked. 

"I love it when you take charge." Ginny muttered breathlessly, still kissing her fiancée. Elara wrapped her arms around Ginny's waist and pulled her closer. She took this opportunity to steal the gum out of Ginny's mouth, she pulled away and spit the gum out in the trash can. Elara then pushed Ginny backwards onto the bed and then climbed on top of her. Ginny looked up. 

"Wait, are we about to do what I think we are?" Ginny asked. Elara furrowed her brows.

"I don't know. Do you want to?" Elara replied. Ginny smiled and put her hand on the back of Elara's head and pulled Elara's lips onto her own,string that answer the question for her. She began tugging at Elara's shirt. Neither of them said anything as Elara sat up for a moment and she pulled her shirt off. Ginny looked at the sight above her. 

"You're so beautiful, holy shit." Ginny muttered. Elara smiled and then ripped Ginny's button up shirt off. 

"Not as beautiful as you." 

And that was their first time, almost as perfect as the two girls saw each other. 

Almost.   
________________________________

The knock on the door came unexpectedly. 

Elara threw on a long shirt and opened her door only to see Winky, the house elf that had been transferred over to the Malfoy's possession after Crouch's death, standing in the doorway. 

"Excuse me mistress, Master Lucius has told me to tell you dinner will be at 8:30. He also told me to asks if the mistresses was hungry, I could bring them some snacks." 

"No thank you Winky." Elara replied. Ginny appeared in the door way wearing Elara's robe. 

The house elf smiled and then snapped her fingers, apperating herself away. Elara shut the door, turned towards Ginny, and smiled. 

"Wanna go another round?" Ginny asked, raising her eyebrows suggestively at her beautifully red and glowing fiancé. 

Ginny could get used to that look, in fact she wished Elara would sport it everyday. 

Because by god, the look on Elara was sexy as hell. 

"No, you have to get in the shower so we can get ready for dinner." Elara replied, though inside she wished her answer was the opposite because Elara loved how Ginny screamed her name and she would have loved to hear it more. "Besides, I think four rounds is enough for the moment." 

Ginny pouted for a moment before a wide smile cropped on her face. 

"I'll take a shower." Ginny told her. Elara raised her eyebrows because she could feel the exception coming before Ginny had the chance to say it. "If you come with me." 

Elara smirked at her. 

"I think that can be arranged."  
________________________________

Elara sat Ginny down and painted her nails and then forbayed her from moving until she said so. 

This gave Elara time to do her makeup before she did Ginny's. Ginny had insisted she could do it herself but Elara was having nothing of it. 

Elara did her makeup and hair to contrast her fiancés. Her magically elongated dark straight hair was the opposite of Ginny's upper back length light waves. Then the face, while Ginny had dark eyes and nude lips, Elara's eyes were nude with a dark plum matte lip. 

The dresses were the most shocking. 

Elara had fitted Ginny into one of her dark red and black floor length gowns, asymmetrical in style, and black heels. 

Elara however was in a light pink floor length mermaid style dress. Her nude heels accented. 

The idea of Elara wearing light colors, pink nonetheless, was unheard of but Elara had recognized it as one she inherited from her mother and she wanted to wear it. Besides, she may have been the fiancée but all eyes would be on Ginny most of the time, she was the one who had to look as if she would belong. Elara had inherited her place, she didn't have to earn it and after killing Dumbledore, she was trusted. 

Ginny had to belong, earn the right. 

Elara stepped out of the bathroom and Ginny turned to look at her. Her eyes widened. 

"Oh my god, El, you look amazing." 

"I'd say the same about you, but you look even better than amazing." Elara replied. She walked up to Ginny and pulled her close. 

"Absolutely stunning." Ginny continued. Elara kissed her fiancée. 

"I love you." Elara replied. Ginny smiled. 

"I love you too." 

Elara took Ginny's arm in her hand and she kissed it. 

"I mean it. I will love you no matter what." 

"I'm scared." Ginny admitted, grabbing Elara's hand. Elara smiled sadly. "My arm will never be empty again and I'm not sure I'm ready for that." 

"When this war is over, I'm going to research ways to remove or even just fade this mark. Then we can put other tattoos over it. I won't give up until I find a way." Elara told her. Ginny smiled sadly and kissed Elara again. 

"I believe you." She said. Elara took a deep breath. 

"I have to look proud. Like I'm happy you're doing this. I want you to know that before hand. I need to make it look real. And I won't lie, it hurts really badly. Some pass out from the pain but you're strong. You can do this. The dark lord favors the strong ones so do the best you can not to scream or cry. Okay?" 

"I got it. I won't let you down." Ginny replied. 

"You have never let me down and crying at the immense pain almost equal to the cruciatus curse won't either. I'll understand." 

"Did you cry?" Ginny asked. Elara shook her head. 

"No. I hardly even reacted because I hardly felt it until the end, it didn't even really hurt. Apparently that's not normal, in fact both of my parents looked scared when I told them. My case is one in a million because everyone else always describes it as being stabbed with a thousand knives." 

"How did it not hurt then?" Ginny asked. Elara smiled sadly.  

"Because that wasn't was would hurt me. I knew when I took this that you would hate me afterwards. You would never speak to me again and the idea of that happening? Nothing could ever hurt more than that." Elara replied. 

"And when I found out I did exactly as you expected I would."

"Yes you did but I already knew you would. I know you Ginny, I've known you like the back of my hand since my second year. I knew how you'd react." Elara told her. Ginny opened her mouth to answer but she was interrupted. 

A knock came at the door. Elara opened it revealing her father, standing in dress robes looking uncommonly less tired then usual. Elara smiled at him 

"It's time." He said. Elara could tell he knew she didn't want this to happen, she could tell by his sad expression. 

"Okay." She said. He looked at her. 

"You look stunning Elara. Your mother would be so proud of who you've become and what you're doing."

He wasn't speaking of her being on their side but he was speaking of her being in the on the opposite. 

The three of them walked to the dining and living area together. 

Within the room, what was normally gloomy was now a happy occasion. Adding one to their ranks meant celebration, making them feel wanted before they broke them down. 

The dinner was nice, simple. Afterwards was always better 

Ginny and Elara made the rounds and Elara introduced her to everyone. There was dancing in the middle of the room. Elara had been laughing at a joke told my the head of the daily prophet when someone tapped her shoulder. 

"Excuse me Ginny but may I borrow my daughter for a dance?" Lucius asked. Ginny smiled. 

"Yes of course." She replied. Ginny replied. Elara kissed her girlfriends cheek and walked away with her father.  They made their way to the middle of the dance floor. 

"You look so much like your mother." He told her, placing his hand in hers and his other on her waist. "Except for the hair, but the dark looks nice on you." 

Elara smiled sadly at him as they danced. 

"Do you miss her?" She asked. Lucius nodded his head gently. 

"Everyday and it kills me that they pretend she never existed." He replied. Elara looked at the people next to her. 

"You wanna eat go get butter beer in Hogsmede on Sunday night with me and Ginny? Please?" She asked before someone tapped his shoulder. He turned at looked at Snape. Both him and Elara knew what that meant. He turned back to Elara. 

"I would love to." 

And then he stepped back away from her so she could go get Ginny. 

She walked up to her as she talked to Theodore Nott. 

"Ginevra." She said. Ginny turned and her smile dropped. "It's time." 

"Yeah. Okay." She muttered. Elara pulled her into a hug. 

"You'll be okay, I won't let anything go wrong. I promise you." She told her. Ginny nodded her head and took a deep breath. Elara pulled back and looked at Ginny before kissing her forehead. "I love you. Forever and always." 

Ginny kissed her. 

"I love you too. Forever and always."   
________________________________

Elara hated the chair she was sitting in. She wanted to go home to her Dad and Remus and her brother and Harry. But she couldn't. She was stuck here, in this room, waiting for the dark mark to be put on her fiancées arm. 

She wanted to scream. 

She imagined Ginny felt even worse than she did when she got hers. At least she had her family's support. Ginny had Elara and that's it. She didn't have anyone else. 

To the common person looking at her, Ginny looked peaceful, maybe even happy, standing at the front of the table but Elara could see the fear in her eyes. 

Elara sat in her chair, smiling, pretending to be happy. She was pretending to be okay with this but she wasn't. She wasn't okay with this. She would never, ever be okay with this. 

Voldemort sat at the other end of the table. He stood up and began walking towards Ginny. Elara wanted nothing more than to rip his throat out. 

"Ginevra Weasley, you are here to pledge your life in service to me. Do you promise to fight for me, even if it results in the end of your life?" He asked. Ginny took a deep breath and then smirked. It was a side of Ginny that Elara hadn't seen before, but it was clearly fake. 

"Yes my lord." 

"And will you follow me, even if it results in the death of someone you love, such as your family members who are against me?" Ginny managed to stay completely calm. 

"Yes my lord." 

"Even if it results the death of your fiancée."  
Ginny tensed up and looked at Elara who smiled sadly at her, understanding eyes, and nodded her head. Ginny breathed deeply and then turned her head to Voldemort once again. 

"Yes my lord." 

"Hold out your arm." He ordered. Ginny stuck her out in front of him, her forearm facing upwards. Elara was spinning her ring around her finger under the table. 

And then the spell. 

Ginny wanted to scream, Elara could see that, but she wouldn't. She couldn't. She was silent as the spell set her arm on fire. She was being murdered on the inside and yet she was unmoving, unspeaking, unsounding. 

As the spell ended, Ginny visibly relaxed and she looked at Elara and smiled knowing it would ease Elara's pain, even if only for a moment. Elara could breathe again. 

"Welcome to our ranks Ginny."

Everyone clapped.

Ginny's screaming came later.


	11. 6th year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ginny lied down slowly and Elara sat next to her on the bed. She had the light on. Ginny looked sick. 
> 
> Elara lied down next her her and turned the light off. Ginny curled up into Elara's chest. 
> 
> Elara pulled her close and Ginny began to scream in anger or hurt, Elara couldn't really tell which. 
> 
> Elara wanted to scream too.

Elara and Ginny had gone back to their room and Ginny immediately broke down the minute the door shut. Elara caught her as she fell. 

Ginny's arm hurt like hell and she had betrayed everything she had ever stood for. Now she knew how Elara felt. 

Ginny then became semi catatonic. 

Elara set her on the bed and took off her heels. Then she wiped away her makeup. Elara did the same for herself and she threw her own hair up in a bun. She changed and then grabbed pajamas for Ginny, long sleeved ones so she wouldn't have to look at her mark. 

She walked into the bedroom. 

"Can you stand for me?" Elara asked. Ginny nodded her head slightly and stood up. Elara unzipped Ginny's dress and sliped it off of her. She placed the sweatshirt on her and then her sweatpants. She braided Ginny's hair as she always does. 

Ginny lied down slowly and Elara sat next to her on the bed. She had the light on. Ginny looked sick. 

Elara lied down next her her and turned the light off. Ginny curled up into Elara's chest. 

Elara pulled her close and Ginny began to scream in anger or hurt, Elara couldn't really tell which. 

Elara wanted to scream too.   
________________________________

Elara had arranged to meet Draco in the shrieking shack after she, Ginny, and Lucius met at The Three Broomsticks. He was bringing Harry. Sirius was also supposed to come with Remus. And Pansy. 

Ginny was coming and she wished she could see her parents but she didn't even invite them. She didn't want them to see the mark or for them to see her as a traitor. She couldn't handle it.

Hogsmede wasn't the same as it used to be. Elara used to love the idea of going there but now, now she felt as though she could live without going there ever again. The Three broomsticks was doing alright in the lightest sense of the word. 

Elara and Ginny arrived before Lucius did. Elara ordered three butter beers and Ginny picked a table. Lucius joined them, thirty minutes late, looking completely exhausted, and a large cut across his face. 

"Oh my god, father, what happened?" Elara asked. He looked at her. 

"I was punished. Don't worry about it Elara. I'm alright. Now, how are you girls?" He asked. Elara smiled sadly.

"We're good. Doing better." Ginny said, smiling lightly into her cup. She looked up at Lucius who looks skeptical. "Seriously, everyday is better than the first day there. That night was the worst night of my life." 

"The world has gone to shit, and here we are, drinking butter beer in public. I don't think currently it gets much better than this." Elara continued, her hands wrapped around her cup, twisting her ring on her finger as she always does.

"You girls childhood has been ruined. I don't think life is good." He said, raising his eyebrows. 

"I have her, so it hasn't really been ruined." Elara said. Ginny smiled at her. 

"I understand. I had your mother." Lucius started. Elara looked at him and grabbed Ginny's hand. "She was like a beacon of light in the dark and I treated her so badly because that's what I thought was right. I know that's no excuse, watching my father mistreat my mother doesn't mean I should have done the same. I hope she knows I loved her. I had many chances to say it, and I only really said it once." 

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked. Elara understood, how could she not. 

"She was a traitor, they give no privileges to traitors, but I managed to get one minute with her before-" he stopped abruptly and breathed. Elara had never seen this side of her father before. "I sat there, and I looked at her beaten and bruised, chained up to the dungeon wall, and I raised her head with my hand and I rested my forehead against hers. She was struggling to breathe and she rattled out a few last words. I know she loved me because she went through hell and still had the strength to say it. And she told he she loved me and for the first time since my mothers death I cried and told her I love her too." 

Elara had never expected that. And she hadn't expected to cry. And Ginny hadn't thought she would have heard Lucius Malfoy had actually loved anyone. 

It was silent. Lucius was looking down at the ground, as if he had something else to say but he hadn't yet. 

"Father?" Elara asked. He looked up. "What is it?" 

"I promised her I'd protect you and Draco. I got him out, I try to make sure he's never found but you're back in harm. I failed." He said. Elara didn't understand. She was wondering where this side of him came from. Maybe his wife's death changed him more than anyone ever thought was possible. 

"You can't blame yourself for this. I'm doing what I think is right." Elara said finally. 

"You're doing what is right but it's also extremely dangerous. I want to protect you, both of you but if they find out I won't be able to." He told them. Elara knew he was smart. He was the only one there who actually knew her, knew she didn't want to be there. 

"I guess they can't find out then." Elara replied. Lucius frowned and Elara placed her hand on his. "Thank you father." 

"What are you thanking me for?" 

"Being there." 

"I'm your father. I should have been there for you from the beginning." He replied. Elara smiled at him. 

"You're here now. That's what matters."   
________________________________

Elara missed them. Everyone that was coming to where she was. She missed them more than anyone knew. 

She lied on the broken couch and waited, Ginny next to her. Elara had her head in Ginny's lap and she was waiting to hear a noise from her family. She was looking up at the ceiling when she heard him. 

"Elara." She heard. Elara turned her head and then jumped up. 

"Dad!" She shouted. She jumped into his arms and he pulled her up and spun her around. He set her down and she looked to his left. 

"Remus." She said, smiling. Ginny stood up and hugged Sirius. 

"Why am I Remus and he's dad?" Remus asked. 

"Do you want me to call you dad?" 

Then Remus smiled. 

"Well, as his boyfriend I feel I reserve the right." He replied. Elara's smile brightened. 

"Really? Oh my god finally." She hugged him again. "Welcome to the family dad." 

Remus smiled as Harry and Draco arrived. 

"Elara." Draco said, almost breathless, like he was afraid she wasn't going to be there. 

"Draco." She smiled. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ginny ran at Harry and latch into him, him grabbing her just as tight. 

She hugged her brother with the same force. 

"I hate not hearing from you. It makes me worried." He told her. Elara pulled back. 

"I know. I'm sorry. I would write to you if I could." She told him. He smiled. 

"I know." He replied. She then looked at Harry. He smiled. She pulled him in for a hug and Ginny pulled Draco into one as well. 

After they all pulled away and Sirius had made sure that Elara wasn't hurt permanently, Elara looked around. 

"Where's Pansy?" She asked. Sirius looked at her. 

"She been staying with the Weasleys. We had no way to get her here without alerting the whole family. I'm sorry." 

"It's alright." Elara responded.  

"I brought tea." Sirius said after a moment of silence. He put his hand inside Remus bag and pulled out two large thermoses "There are cups in the bag too, charmed not to break." 

"Wrapping then in paper is not a charm Sirius." Remus said, raising his eyebrows in Sirius direction.

"I tend to disagree." 

They argued, Remus won. Sirius pouted. 

Elara laughed. 

She had missed this. Sirius had missed her smile. Remus had missed her laugh. Harry had missed her voice. 

Draco just missed her in general. 

"Your parents miss you. Your brothers too, all of them." Harry said, looking at Ginny. Ginny's face lit up at the mention of her family. 

"Is Bill still getting married?" She asked. Harry smiled and nodded his head. 

"Yeah. Tonight actually. We will have to get going soon." He told her. 

Ginny reached her hand to her right and then she looked down at the couch. Then she stood, searching around the couch frantically. 

"Gin, love, you gave the gift to me so you wouldn't forget it at the Three Broomsticks." Elara said, producing medium sized box from her bag, fixed with a charm to enlarge it. 

"Oh. Yeah." She said. She took the box and handed it to Harry. Harry took it and smiled. "It's a gnome, the muggle kind. I'm sure Fleur will hate it but I think Bill will get a laugh out of it and everyone could use that these days."

Harry chuckled but Draco's head quirked to the side. 

"The muggle kind?" He asked. 

"They don't move and they-" Harry looked over at Draco. "I'll explain it later." 

And everyone caught up before the boys had to leave for the wedding.

"Hey, I'll see you soon enough." Draco told Elara as he left. 

He had never been more right.   
________________________________

Elara woke up to a very familiar voice screaming. She sat up abruptly, Ginny following. 

"Elara?" She asked. Elara stood up immediately and opened the door. Ginny followed. "Elara, what's going on?" 

Elara sprinted down the hallway and then down the next and reached the dining room and there he lied, on the floor, screaming. 

Draco. 

"Hey! What's going on?!" Elara shouted, running towards Bella. Her robe flew behind her. She raised her wand at Bellatrix did the same. Then it was a standoff situation. 

Elara had her wand raised in Bella's face and behind her stood Ginny, backing her up against Fenir who was doing the same as the everyone else. 

Draco lied on the floor, almost unmoving. 

"What are you doing Elara?" Bellatrix asked. 

"Trying to figure out what the fuck is going on, you?" She replied in response. Bella didn't answer. 

"Don't stick your nose in places it doesn't belong." Fenir responded, sneering. 

"Indicorpus" Elara muttered. Out of nowhere ropes flew at him and began choking him. 

"Elara." Draco whispered. Elara never broke her eye contact. 

"Ginny, I have them, check on Draco please." Elara told her. 

"I've got him." Ginny responded. 

"Take him out please." Elara replied. She heard Ginny pick him up and lead him out of the room. Had it been a few months ago, Ginny would have stood her ground but this was now, and Ginny knew Elara could handle herself. 

"Expelliarmus!" Bella yelled, throwing Elara's wand to another direction. The spell of Fenir was lifted but Elara smirked. 

"You think that'll stop me?" 

Elara threw her hand to the side and Fenir went flying, back thrown against the wall, out cold. She then turned to Bella. She smiled and then she threw her hand towards Bella and lifted her by the neck. Bella began gasping for air. 

"You need to learn that you are not the strongest person here." Elara said, glaring. Bella had tears in her eyes, maybe front he lack of oxygen, maybe from fear. Elara didn't really care. She held it for another moment and then she threw her to the ground as hard as she could. 

"Elara." 

The cold voice had come from behind her and she immediately turned. 

"My lord, I didn't realize you were there." Elara muttered. He looked at her, ignoring her apologies. 

"I didn't realize how powerful you had gotten. It will be useful. I assume you found Draco." 

"Yes my lord."

"He arrived at the front gates this morning, he claimed that Harry had left him, telling him that he was using him and he didn't love him. Draco came here in search revenge. I looked through his mind, it seems he was telling the truth, however he needed punishment for all of his betrayals." Voldemort explained. 

"That makes sense my lord." Elara told him. 

"Go fix him, we have a meeting at four and I would like him to be ready." 

And with that he left. 

Elara sprinted off towards her room and ran inside. Draco was pacing wobbly by the bed, Ginny looking at him, smiling. 

"Draco." Elara said. 

"Elara, look-" 

And Elara had hugged him as hard as she could manage. She pulled back and then stopped smiling and slapped him on the arm lightly. 

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Elara asked. Draco smiled at her. 

"I'm helping." 

"What?" Ginny asked. 

"Harry had to go and he wouldn't let me come with him. Pansy had been spending a lot of time with Fred and George and when she heard they were going underground and they invited her to come with, she decided she wanted to go with them. That meant I would be stuck at Grimauld all day, with Sirius and Remus, not allowed to leave, for what could be a whole year. So Made Harry stage a fight with me, it being all fake, and then came here pretending that I wanted to get my revenge on the man who broke my heart." 

Elara hit him again on the arm. 

"You idiot! You're gonna get yourself killed!" Elara yelled. Draco smiled at her. 

"I guess for once you know how it feels." 

Elara couldn't argue with that. She looked at Ginny who smiled sadly at her. Then Elara looked back to him. 

"Come on then, let me make sure you're okay. Bellatrix can be brutal." Elara said. Ginny then laughed. 

"I think she's nothing compared to you" 

Elara smirked and then pulled Draco to the bathroom. 

Elara had her brother back.


	12. 7th year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The once awe-inspiring place Elara loved was now a blackened hole. She hated it. 
> 
> She hated this. 
> 
> She wanted to go home to her dads and her Harry and her whole family. This, the castle, it wasn't home. It was something else. 
> 
> A prison maybe, that sounded about right. 
> 
> Yeah, she was in prison, and she felt as though she deserved it. 
> 
> She had committed the crime and now she was going to pay.

The train ride hadn't been the same, even with both Draco's and Ginny. They had taken a compartment and were silent almost the whole time.

The castle had been worse. 

The once awe-inspiring place Elara loved was now a blackened hole. She hated it. 

She hated this. 

She wanted to go home to her dads and her Harry and her whole family. This, the castle, it wasn't home. It was something else. 

A prison maybe, that sounded about right. 

Yeah, she was in prison, and she felt as though she deserved it. 

She had committed the crime and now she was going to pay.   
________________________________

Elara had become particularly close to the Gyriffindors behind closed quarters, and most if not all knew she was an order member undercover as a death eater along with Draco and Ginny. 

Neville had become quite close with them as well, though clearly not in public. 

They spent all of their time out of classes in the room of requirement. 

Snape was a pain in the ass but he tended to lean away from them so Elara didn't really care about him. 

The Carrows were worse. 

Elara didn't like the Carrow's but she never liked them so that was nothing new. The fact that they were torturing younger students set her off.

She had become exceptional at healing, so exceptional that she had begun doing things some official healers didn't do until years after their start. 

"ELARA!" 

The scream had come from Ginny who had run into the Room of requirement. Elara shut her book and stood up from the couch. 

That's when she saw Draco carrying a boy, first year, and they were both covered in his blood. The boy was screaming. 

"Oh my god." 

Draco set him down on the coffee table and he continued screaming and sobbing. Elara looked at him, not knowing what to do. 

"What do we do?" Ginny asked frantically. 

"I need gauze and tape and-" she stopped abruptly. "I need everything."

"Were on it." Draco muttered, running off with Ginny. The boy was still screaming, clearly in pain. 

"Hey. Look at me. Focus on me and me only." Elara told him. He looked at her "I know it hurts but you have to stop screaming. Please. You need to calm down. I want to help you but I can't when you're like this." 

He nodded slowly and took a few deep breaths. 

Then he began seizing. 

"Shit." Elara muttered. "GINNY THROW THE ME THE CALMING TONIC NOW!" 

Elara had run a bit closer and Ginny tossed the calming tonic towards Elara. Then she ran back and she opened the bottle. She poured a bit down his throat and he seized for another moment before he finally stopped. Elara breathed slowly before starting to look him over. 

He had three broken bones in his leg and another one was sticking out of his arm. On his side was a deep laceration, so deep Elara could see further than she thought possible. Elara pulled her jacket of of her and folded it, pressing it to the boys side. 

He looked so small. He had to be at least eleven but he looked as if he was only 7-8. 

She couldn't imagine the pain he was in. He had to be in agony. 

Neville ran into the room. 

"Is he gonna be okay?" He asked. Elara shook her head. 

"I don't- I don't know. I've never healed anything this advanced. I'm not skilled enough for this but I'm gonna try my hardest." Elara said. She took a deep breath "Tell me what happened." Elara ordered. 

"The Carrows, they were holding a hufflepuff muggle born in the air. He saw them and told them to stop. They didn't. Before I even knew what was happening he sent a hex towards Amycus. When it hit him on the back of the head, they let go of the hufflepuff. Someone managed to catch her on time but they turned to him. They were mad. I didn't even have time to jump in front of him before the curses were sent his way." Neville said. 

"Do you know who he is?" 

"Yeah, um, his name is Dennis, first year Slytherin." 

"Slytherin?" 

"Yeah. Surprising?" 

"It's nice to know Draco and I aren't the only ones." Elara said, pulling her jacket off of his wound and throwing it on the floor as Draco and Ginny arrived. 

"We grabbed everything and more." Ginny said. 

Elara grabbed the bone regrowth. 

"He doesn't have any missing bones, why are you regrowing one?" Neville asked. 

"They shattered his femur so bad it's hardly even there anymore. It's easier to get rid of the bone and regrow it then to try to mend the other one. I know it will hurt more but it will be better for him in the long run." Elara said. 

"He's in for a long night." Draco muttered. Ginny wiped the hair off of his forehead.

"Yeah. He is." 

Elara worked for hours and the three people watched, not really knowing what else to do. 

Elara was tired, and after the fourth hour she was hungry but she continued to work. 

Dennis had woken up twice while Elara was working on him. Each time he had began to scream and cry. Each time Draco and Neville would hold him and Ginny would grab more calming tonic. Elara would try to calm him down but it was no use. 

He was in pain, a large amount of it. Elara felt sorry for him. 

She didn't finish until 3 in the morning, after working for 6 and a half hours. She had been working on the cut in his side for most of them. 

She had never done anything like that before. She didn't know how to do it with magic and she could only do it the other way with a muggle textbook. 

After she finally finished mending all of his bones and had closed up his side, Draco carried him to a bed in the corner of the room and then went to shower, Ginny and Neville doing the same after some coercing by Elara. 

She wanted to be alone. 

She washed the blood off of her hands and face and she had changed clothes. Now she was sitting next to the boy in a chair, reading a medical healers textbook because she had realized that this may have been the first bad injury but it wouldn't be the last. 

She had been almost asleep when she heard a voice. She looked up from her book to see Dennis looking at her. She closed her book and stood up. 

"Hey. Welcome back." She muttered. He smiled at her. 

"Is she alright?" He asked. Elara furrowed her brows. 

"Who?" She asked. Dennis looked at her. 

"The girl. From hufflepuff." He asked. Elara smiled at him. 

"Yes. She is. She's gonna be just fine. And so are you."   
________________________________

Another first year was told to inform Dennis if he didn't come to classes on Monday it would counts as skipping and he would have detention with the Carrows every Thursday for a month. 

Elara was furious. 

Not only was she furious, she was worried. He could kill himself doing this. She couldn't let them do it. She wouldn't. 

"Elara, where are you going?" Ginny asked as Elara stepped towards the door, steaming with anger. 

"They can't do this. They just can't." Elara said. Ginny grabbed her by the sides and turned her so they were facing each other. Elara looked up at her fiancée

"Elara. Where are you going?" She asked. Elara breathed deeply. 

"I'm going to see Severus, I'm going to make him stop this." 

"You don't have to do this. You can't. If the Carrows find out you'll be punished. And if the dark lord finds out you'll be tortured. You can't stick up for him without looking soft. They'll know you're a fake." Ginny said. Elara looked over at Dennis, sleeping in her bed squeezing a stuffed bear in his arms. She smiled at how peaceful he looks. 

"You're wrong. I do have to. I'll be okay I promise." Elara responded. She leaned over and kissed Ginny on the forehead. 

Then she marched to Snape's office. She opened the door with no warning and he looked up from his paperwork. 

"They're insane." Elara said. Severus knew to what she was inferring. 

"Yes they are but they have the right to do whatever they please to students according to the dark lord and I can't argue. Mr. Alderson has to go to his classes tomorrow" He responded. Elara turned to him and laughed like he was joking. Then she looked flabbergasted, realizing he was serious. 

"No." Elara muttered. He raised an eyebrow at her. "No! He's not strong enough, I just had to sew his side back together, there is no way he can get out of that bed." She yelled. Severus watched her pace back and forth, not saying a word. She looked at him frantically "Say something!" 

"Elara, I don't know what you wish me to do." 

"Override it! He's a member of your house Severus and you're the headmaster! If you say they can't do this then they can't do it!"

"He's not a member of my house, I don't run Slytherin anymore, the Carrows do and and I can't over ride it. If the Carrows told the Dark lord he would think I'm weak and I care. He wouldn't trust me."

"He doesn't trust you now." She said. He frowned at her "Listen, this boy spent six hours on a coffee table being operated on by me and I had no clue what I was doing. If he has to get up tomorrow I don't know how long he will last. You can't just let those two psychopaths take away his life!" Elara said. Severus looked at her. 

"I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do." He said. Elara glared at him. 

"You're a coward." She muttered. 

"Elara-"

"No. Fuck you." 

And she left his office.   
________________________________

"Professor?" A voice said. Mcgonagall looked up from her desk and looked at Dennis in the doorway. 

"Yes Mr. Alderson?" She asked. Dennis smiled at her. 

"The headmaster wants to see Elara." He told her. Minerva almost visibly stiffened but nodded her head nonetheless. 

"Very well."  

Elara frowned and stood up. 

"He said you need to bring your things." He said. Elara rolled her eyes and then grabbed her bag. She turned to the front of the room. 

"Thank you professor. I'll see you on Wednesday." She told her. Minerva nodded her head. 

"See you then Ms. Malfoy." 

Elara then proceeded to walk towards the door. She saw Dennis struggle to push it the rest of the way open for her. She grabbed it and he limped out of her way. She closed the door behind her and then saw Dennis carrying his things. She immediately grabbed them from him and then turned. 

"Get on my back." Elara ordered. Dennis blinked. 

"It's okay-"

"Dennis, Saturday I sewed your side back together with basically string and a needle. If you do anything that rips them out then you could bleed out in a matter of minutes. I think you have walked for long enough." 

"Okay." He told her before jumping up. She smiled at him. 

"So what are you doing out?" Elara asked. He looked at her, and she looked back slightly for a moment before facing forward once again

"I was called to his office too." Dennis told her. Elara nodded her head, confused as to what they could possibly be doing. She walked up to the staircase and then set Dennis down as gently as possible. 

"Salazar." She said after a moment but nothing moved. She furrowed her brows. 

"He changed it." Dennis muttered. Elara raised her eyebrows as she looked at the small boy. "Said it was too obvious." 

"Okay. What is it now then?" Elara asked him. Dennis looked forward at the bird. 

"Narcissus." He said. Elara's blood ran cold. She stiffened. Dennis looked at her. "El, are you okay?" 

"Yeah. I'm fine. Let's go." Elara replied.

Dennis stepped up and Elara followed. The stairs moved up all the way until they reached the large oak door. Elara took a deep breath and then she opened the door. She held the door opened for Dennis and he stepped in and then she walked in. The door shut behind her. She walked towards Severus' desk.

"Severus." She said, politely, though you could hear a bit of attitude behind it. The chair turned and there sat Sirius Black, Remus Lupin sitting next to him in the large chair

"Was that a bit of venom I heard in your voice?" Sirius joked. 

"Oh my god dad!" She shouted. Sirius stood up laughing and hugged Elara. Then the door opened and Ginny walked in with Draco. 

"You wanted to see us headmaster-" Draco spotted Sirius. "Dad!" He shouted. Elara had moved in to hugging Remus like no tomorrow. Draco had walked up to Sirius and hugged him. And then he hugged Remus. 

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Ginny asked, giving Sirius a light hug. 

"Severus told us about Elara having to perform emergency surgery on a first year. We came to see if she was okay" 

"And that just so happens to correlate with our Defense against the dark arts time?" Elara asked. 

"He told us he would pull the three of you and the kid out before Defense. Speaking of which, you must be the kid." Sirius said turning. 

"Oh, yes sir. Dennis Alderson." He replied, shaking Sirius's hand. 

"Sirius Black, father to these two." He replied. Dennis smiled and turned to Remus. 

"Remus Lupin, their other dad and Sirius keeper."

Then Dennis turned to Elara. 

"I thought your dad was Lucius." He said. Elara smiled 

"Their like our adoptive dad's." Draco clarified. Elara smiled and walked over to Sirius.

"Sirius took us in when no one else wanted me and Remus is Sirius' boyfriend and another person who loves us for us." 

"Also were better than Lucius." Sirius muttered. 

"Sure. If you say so." Elara said, kissing him on the cheek. Sirius frowned. 

"What is that supposed to mean?" He spluttered. Elara smiled at him. 

"Nothing dad. Nothing at all." She said. He looked at her sideways and she decided to change the subject. 

"How's Pansy?" She asked. Sirius smiled at her 

"She's good. She likes being at he Weasley's. She been spending a lot of time with the twins. They've been letting her work at the shop, you know behind the scenes. They put her in the back sorting. They pay her but she almost always gives it back in the form of rent, which they aren't charging her. She's just doing it." Sirius told her, moving to a shelf. 

"Yeah. That sounds like Pansy. She probably feels like a burden." Elara replied. Sirius began rummaging through things. 

"Oh I'm sure she does." Remus started. "It'll take her a while but eventually she will learn that she isn't." 

"She will learn. Give her a month or two. She's smart. She'll figure it out." Draco said. Sirius cursed under his breath, and then shut the drawer. Elara looked at Remus, ignoring Sirius and continuing with the conversation. 

"You should bring her next time, id like to see her-" crash "-Sirius what the fuck are you doing!"

Sirius looked up from the broken glass at her innocently. Elara put the vase back together without her wand and levitated it back onto the desk. Then she looked at him expectantly. 

"Sirius, what are you doing? Honestly." 

"Looking for the tea! Where does Snape keep anything in this rats nest?!" 

Everyone looked around at the completely clean office and Dennis pointed to a shelf. 

"My best guess, there." He said. Sirius turned his head to the shelf. It was about Sirius' eye level and was the shelf that had been right in front of his face when he was standing earlier. 

"Wow, Sirius, amazing. You broke a vase for nothing." Ginny said. Elara smiled. 

"At least I fixed it or Snape would have had his revenge." Elara joked. 

Sirius grumbled, clearly annoyed with the situation. 

"I'd like to see him try." He mumbled, beginning to walk to the tea. 

This what was missed. Sirius being dumb, Remus being smart, everyone being together. 

Elara never missed anything more in her life.


	13. 7th year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elara wanted to say something but she couldn't. The only thing working in her brain was emotions. 
> 
> Fear, anger, sadness. 
> 
> "Elara you did everything you could for her. You did your best, she knew that." Ginny comforted. Elara began to hyperventilate. The world was most definitely pressing against her lungs 
> 
> "Breathe baby. Please, breathe." Ginny said but it was pointless, Ginny knew that. 
> 
> Elara cried in Ginny's arms and for the first time in months, Ginny cried too.

Elara had liked reading. The fact that she was still studying the brain after studying it for a week bothered her. She was tired of reading about it, it didn't interest her. It was boring. 

Lately she felt like all she did was read. She was worried if she didn't study she wouldn't know enough and somebody would die. She also had been healing more and more people. 

Sometimes it was small, a broken arm, which these days proved to be one of the smallest things, or it would be someone having a panic attack which was easy enough to assign a simple calming or sleeping draft in response. The bigger problems were when people came in with missing limbs or large holes through there bodies. There was no saving limbs completely gone. 

Someone died on her table once, just once. It had been a second year, orphaned, named Alex. Maybe that's why the Carrows had tortured him more extensively then others, no one would remember him. No one would know. 

But his friends did and Elara did. She remembered him, she knew. She'd never forget and she decided she'd sure as hell never let anyone die on her table again. 

She held a small memorial service for him, even if he had no family someone had to honor him, remember him. People weren't just expendable, they were people. They had lives. They deserved to live. 

That boy had deserved to live. Everyone did. She knew that wouldn't happen though. People were going to die, it was unavoidable but that didn't make it any easier. 

Elara's days felt numbered. Every injury she saw made her feel more and more afraid, like maybe they would find out it was her healing the sick and injured because Poppy couldn't. That would get her in more trouble then she could survive from, but she still didn't stop. No matter what, she couldn't. 

The only other thing she did was hang out with her family. Ginny, Draco, Dennis. The four of them were almost always together, even if in silence. 

Dennis was always looking over his shoulder as of late. Ever since Christmas break, it had almost seemed like he was afraid to speak, to move, to breathe. He had been scared around the school but it was always that way, something else was up. He was scared of something or someone else. Something new. 

Draco was more or less the same, happy his family was alive because that was a luxury some people don't have, but anytime there was hushed whisper about Harry he would grow quiet and worried. Then he wouldn't speak for the rest of the day. Sometimes he would cry, sometimes he wouldn't. 

Ginny didn't smile as much. Sometimes she would laugh when a joke was told around the fire but that was a rare occurrence as recent days had provided. Elara wished she could make it better, wished she could make her smile or cry or anything. She was just so blank and Elara tried, she really did, but she knew Ginny wouldn't be okay until she saw her family again, knew they were alright and even then it would take years to reverse the damage the war had done. 

No one would be okay until the war was over and that was something Elara had come to terms with long ago, but that didn't make it hurt any less. 

Nothing did.   
________________________________

Tea was calming. Elara couldn't help but smile sadly as it slid down her throat. 

The rain calmed her too. 

It had been about three weeks since Christmas break and to her surprise this year came with no snow, just rain. 

And fear. 

Elara, Ginny, and Draco had a small intimate Christmas in their wing's living room, Severus and Lucius had joined them for a small portion of it. Then they were forced to the large Christmas dinner. There were no festivities there, only torture on a very young, very terrified, muggle family as a gift for the years good work. 

Elara had been horrified but was forced to be included to make herself seem as if she wanted to be there. Ginny and Draco were forced as well. 

Elara could still hear the screaming. 

And then there was the unknown screaming in the basement. Some girl screaming, begging for mercy. Elara wanted to help her, she wanted to help them all. 

But she couldn't. 

Severus stared at her and she stared out the window. 

"Elara." He said after a moment. She looked up. 

"Hm?" She asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise. 

"Are you okay?" He asked. She nodded her head almost too quickly. 

"Yeah. I'm alright. Scared but alright." Elara told him. He nodded his head in understanding and then chose to change the subject. 

"How's Mr. Alderson?" He asked. 

It had been a little over five months since the incident and he had come up for tea with Elara half of the time. She smiled at him. 

"He's okay. He was happy to see his parents were alright, he had been worried when they didn't respond to his letters but they had a good Christmas. Now they've gone underground" 

His parents were muggles, shockingly enough. Elara hadn't expected that but at the same time she had. 

"He's scared, he doesn't really leave my side. after the Carrows threw him down the stairs and opened head he's afraid they're gonna kill him. I would be to." 

"I don't blame either of you for being afraid. This is an adults war. You're 17, Draco too. Ginny's barely 16, and Dennis is 11. None of you should be here. Dennis should have stayed with his parents and you should go back to Sirius and never leave." 

"Severus, he knows this is important, that's why he came back. And the Carrows know he's close to me, but they don't think I know he's muggleborn so they think I care for him because he could come to our side, an idea I planted in their heads by speaking a little too loud by them in the library to Ginny. That's why he was willing to come back, because they still torture him but I can protect him without blowing my cover. And as for me leaving that will never happen." 

There was a knock at the door and Elara turned. The door opened to reveal Dennis, in tears, holding what looked to be more than one letter, stumbling. Elara jumped out of her chair. Dennis looked at her for a moment. 

"Dennis?" She asked. He began to sob and he ran towards her. He collapsed into her arms and she pulled him closer, her eyes widened. She fell back into the chair and he curled into her. The letter dropped out of his hands and Severus made his way around the desk to grab it. He picked up the letters and began to read one. He looked at Dennis and then handed Elara the first letter. She looked it over. 

"Oh honey." She said sympathetically. The letter had been addressed to him from his parents, and the letter was scrambled. 

The next was addressed to Elara. She took hold of it but waited to read it until Dennis wasn't sobbing in her arms. 

She held him and Severus departed from his office. 

For the first time in a long time, she was thankful someone wasn't with their family and that was a feeling she never wanted to have again.   
________________________________

Dennis, 

My sweet baby boy. They are coming for us. We had thought we were safe but no one is safe these days. 

You are so beautiful. You will forever be the best thing I ever did. We ever did. Your father is standing, waiting, he says he will fend them off but him and I both know this is the end. 

You need to be strong now more than ever. Stay with Elara, you said she loves you, you said she will protect you, well now I'm trusting her as much as you do. 

It will all be alright. You're so brave and amazing and you will be just fine. 

Just always do the right thing, always fight on the right side. You do that and everything will be alright. 

Remember we will see you again one day, I promise. 

We love you so much baby boy. 

Love,   
Mom and Dad.  
________________________________

Elara Black, 

I hope you love Dennis because you're about to be all he has left. I wish I had met you, Dennis speaks so highly of you and he he loves you so much. 

You're a good woman, Dennis is such a good judge of character so if you weren't he would have known. 

I'm so thankful we're leaving Dennis in your capable hands. 

Please, keep him safe. He needs someone to do that. Rod and I are trusting you and I'm sorry this came out of nowhere but we have no other choice. 

There are so many things I wish I could tell you but they're is no time anymore. The door is breaking and our time is up so I'll tell you this. 

You have made Dennis a better man in the time you've known him, since you saved his life.  I know you'll make him even better and he'll have a long life because of you. 

Thank you,   
Ellen and Sean  
________________________________

And just like that they were dead and Elara was all he had left. 

He hadn't stopped crying but once again he never got a break. He was sent to class the next day but when he came to lunch and dinner, he stayed curled up into Elara's side. The same went for the weekend. He was curled into her side. Nothing was said. He was silent. 

At first she had just let him be but eventually she realized that he needed her to say something but she didn't know what. 

So she used others words. 

She had been talking to him before and remembered the book he said was his mothers favorite. The book he said, his mother read to him every night. She didn't know the story but she knew he would have it. She had searched through his stuff and found it, wrapped in a pair of socks in the bottom of his trunk. She brought it back and he lied back onto her side. 

"Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading but it had no pictures or conversations in it, "and what's the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversations?" 

And then Dennis began to recite it from memory, staring quietly and growing louder. 

After a few moments, he was actively looking at the book and Elara had begun to read it again. 

He wasn't smiling but he wasn't crying either. 

By the end of the night, They had already finished the book and Dennis had fallen asleep. 

Elara had regrabbed her medical textbook and was continuing to read about the brain. 

"Hey." She heard. Elara looked up at Ginny. 

"Hey you." 

Elara closed her book and slowly stood up, moving Dennis off of her as easily as she could as to not wake him up. 

She stood up and kissed her. 

"How are you doing?" She asked. Elara looked back at Dennis on the couch.

"I'm alright. He's still doing bad but I read him his favorite book that his mother used to read to him so he had an okay day. I knew it would help because that's what I wanted someone to do to me, sing and read Babbitty Rabbity and the hopping pot."

"Yeah. I figure you would know what to do. You always do." Ginny said. Elara looked at her, something was off. 

"What is it?" Elara asked. Ginny looked at her. She hesitated before speaking. 

"The first thing I need to remind you is that you tried. I know you did. Everyone does. She did. Don't blame yourself because it's not your fault."

"Ginny. What are you talking about?" Elara asked. 

"Pansy." 

"What about her?" 

"She felt as if she was putting the Weasley's in danger. She left." Ginny told her. Elara turned to face Ginny. 

"What?" 

"She left the shop." Ginny repeated. Elara took a few deep breaths. 

"Do they know where she is?" She asked. Ginny didn't respond. "Ginny!" Elara ordered. 

"Elara-" That was a yes. Elara could read Ginny. She had always been able to read Ginny. 

"Tell me where she is, I'll go get her myself." Elara said, walking towards the door.

"Elara. Listen to me." She said. Elara turned. "You can't do that." 

Elara knew where this was going. How could she not? It was so obvious where this was going. She wasn't stupid, she never had been. She was aware of what Ginny was going to say and she was aware that it would hurt like hell. 

But she didn't say that. 

"Why not?" Elara asked. She felt the world on her chest and it was becoming harder to breathe. 

"They caught her El. They took her." 

And if you thought that was where this ended you would be so very wrong. It gets worse, it always gets worse. 

"No, Ginny. No." Elara muttered. 

"Elara it was her screaming in the dungeons on Christmas. She had been there for days." 

Elara felt like she couldn't breath. 

"I'm going to get her. Right now. She's not staying there one more second." Elara said, speeding back towards the door, tears beginning to fall because it was clear. It had months since Christmas. It had been months since any of them were there, including her. 

"Elara, you know better than I do that she's not there. You didn't need me to tell you that." Ginny said. Elara turned back to her. 

She didn't want her to say it. Elara didn't want Ginny to say the words. She wanted to stay oblivious forever. 

Ginny opened her mouth to speak but Elara wouldn't let her. She couldn't let her. 

"Please don't say it. Don't say it." Elara muttered and Ginny wished like hell she didn't have to. But Elara had to hear it, they both knew that. She approached Elara and placed her hands on both cheeks. Ginny wiped away the tears streaming on her fiancées face. She took a deep breath in. 

"She's dead baby. They found her in front of the twins shop a little while ago, they've been trying to get the message to us for a month." 

Elara's mouth opened to say something but the only thing that came out were sobs. She started to fall and Ginny caught her. They slid down and Elara curled further into Ginny. 

"I..." 

Elara wanted to say something but she couldn't. The only thing working in her brain was emotions. 

Fear, anger, sadness. 

"Elara you did everything you could for her. You did your best, she knew that." Ginny comforted. Elara began to hyperventilate. The world was most definitely pressing against her lungs 

"Breathe baby. Please, breathe." Ginny said but it was pointless, Ginny knew that. 

Elara cried in Ginny's arms and for the first time in months, Ginny cried too.


	14. 7th year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elara grabbed Draco by the back of his shirt and pulled him backwards and then knocked the trio down with a pulse to the floor. Bellatrix threw a hex at the man with her sword and Elara threw one against the wall. 
> 
> The men would have fought back if they had had the chance to but Elara and Bellatrix had started so fast they stood no chance of an upper hand. 
> 
> "GET OUT!" Bellatrix yelled. The men scrambled to get up and run out. Then Bellatrix threw the boys at Draco. 
> 
> "Put the boys in the cellar!" She shouted. Draco looked at her and nodded, leading them to their makeshift dungeon. 
> 
> "And what about her?" Elara asked. 
> 
> "Oh her and I are gonna have a little talk." Bellatrix muttered. "Girl to girl."

"Elara." Amycus' voice had come into her empty room like a predator coming after his prey. Elara's eyes widened as she looked up towards the door and away from her homework. She immediately stood up, practically throwing her desk chair away from under her. He walked into the room and shut the door behind him 

"Amycus. What are you doing here?" She asked. Amycus' smile grew wider and the fear in Elara's eyes did too. 

"I came to have a little chat with you." He replied, continuing towards her. 

Elara's heart was racing as Amycus grabbed her wrist and came closer to her face. There was a moment of nothing before everything. 

Amycus slapped her and pushed her onto the bed. 

"What are you doing?" She asked. 

"I'm teaching you a lesson, I've heard that you were healing some of the students from one of them. Of course we had to beat the information out of her, she's probably with your fiancée know considering that's who she ran to when we threw her into the great hall." 

Elara's blood ran cold at the mention of Ginny. 

Ginny. 

The whole world was running through her mind. 

"What are you gonna do?" She asked quietly. Amycus laughed. 

"What does it look like I'm gonna do. I'm going to teach you to never go behind our backs again." He replied. Elara's mind was searching for an escape but there wasn't one. "Your friend Parkinson got this lesson too but it seems that didn't do her any good so I guess I'm gonna have to do better with you." 

He pulled her up to him and ripped open her shirt. 

And then Elara woke up screaming.  
________________________________

Elara couldn't ask Pansy if Amycus raped her because she was dead and Amycus probably had a large part in killing her. 

She didn't understand why she kept having these dreams. 

The ones that made her ears ring and she could see things others hadn't. She was more than confused, she was terrified. 

She wanted to know what was going on and she wanted to know if what she thought happened, really happened. 

So if she couldn't ask Pansy then she would have to ask Amycus. 

She walked into the DADA room to see him, standing at the front, writing the word unforgivable on the chalk board. 

"Amycus." She said. He didn't acknowledge her so she continued. "Did you rape Pansy Parkinson?" 

At this Amycus paused, looked down, and then set down his chalk. 

"Who wants to know?" He asked. 

"Clearly I do." She replied. Amycus turned, smiling at her. 

"Yes. I did. Why are you asking?" He replied. Elara's breath hitched. He began to walk towards her. 

"You son of a bitch." She replied. There was a moments pause before he pushed her backwards against the wall. He pressed himself against her and pressed his hand against her neck, closing her airway.

She would have for something if she hadn't froze. 

He pushed his hand under her sweater and began pulling it up, continuing to choke her. Elara gasped for air. 

And then Ginny. 

"Elara?" She called out. She walked through the door to see Amycus, who had jumped backwards away from Elara. 

Elara hunched over and was attempting to get back the breath he stole. 

Ginny looked back and forth. 

"What happened?" She asked. 

"None of your business Weasley. Leave my room. Both of you." He ordered. Elara nodded her head and sprinted out of the room. Ginny followed. 

"Elara!" She shouted. Elara continued until she reached the room of requirement. She ran through the door and looked around the room. Everyone was in there, doing homework, or cleaning. Anything to pass the time. 

The room had become the only place people with were muggle born or sympathizers could go so some people didn't leave the room anymore, not even able to go to classes out of fear. 

Ginny ran into the room. 

"Elara! What the hell did I just walk into?" She asked. Elara turned. 

"Nothing Ginny. Nothing happened." Elara said. Elara knew Ginny would loose it if she told her. 

"That was not nothing! I'm not stupid, I know something happened!" 

By now everyone was looking at them. 

"No. Ginny, forget it!" 

"WHAT WAS HE DOING?!" Ginny screamed. Elara turned to walk away from her so Ginny grabbed her arm. 

"Get off of me Ginevra." Elara muttered. She wished she sounded more intimidating but she honestly just sounded broken. Ginny pulled Elara in front of her and grabbed both sides of her face. 

"Elara, please. What happened?" She said calmly. Elara looked up and made eye contact with her. 

"I had another dream and in it he told me he raped Pansy. I wanted to know if it was true and I couldn't ask her so Amycus was the next best option. So I asked him. And he said yes and then he said he was going to do the same to me. If you wouldn't have walked in when you did, he would have." Elara muttered. Ginny's eyes went darker than ever before. She pulled her hands of of Elara's face and started for the door. 

"Ginny!" Elara shouted, running after her. She followed her out of the door and ran in front of her. Ginny tried to walk around her but Elara wouldn't let her. 

"Elara move." 

"What're you about to do?" Elara asked. 

"Kill him, I thought that was pretty obvious." Ginny muttered in response, before walking around Elara. Elara turned and grabbed her wrist. Ginny tired to shake her but Elara's grip was tight. "Elara." Ginny warned. 

"Ginny look at me." Elara said. Ginny took a deep breath and then turned to look at her fiancée, tears of anger in her eyes. 

"He can't get away with it. He gets away with everything." Ginny said. Elara smiled sadly at her and then pulled her close, resting their foreheads together. 

"He won't, but we can't just kill him. There's a war coming, we have to be careful." Elara responded. Ginny placed a hand on Elara cheek. 

"I don't want to go to war. I just want them all to drop dead."

"I know." Elara responded. 

They stood there like that until Dennis told them the train was leaving.  
________________________________

He was right there, sitting in front of them, as alive as can be. 

Elara had answered the door to the manor and was now currently standing in front of Ron, Hermione, and Harry. 

She had to force herself not to smile. She turned to the snatchers. 

"What the fuck do you want? I just passed the brain in my reading, I don't have time for this." Elara said. 

"We need to see Bellatrix." He said. She frowned, rolled her eyes, and then she let then in. They walked through the front hall into the meeting room above the stairs. 

"BELLA!" Elara screamed. She waited a moment before she heard footsteps. Bellatrix emerged from the stairs and sneered at her. 

"What do you w-" 

Bellatrix stopped abruptly when she looked past Elara and right at Harry. She looked at Elara once more. 

"Is that him?" Bellatrix asked. Elara looked back at Harry and then back to her aunt. 

"Is that who?" 

"Harry Potter?" Bellatrix asked. Elara looked at Harry once again and then laughed. 

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Elara asked. Bellatrix walked up to Harry and started inspecting his face but it was unrecognizable to her. She turned back to Elara. 

"Get Draco." She ordered. Elara rolled her eyes and then walked towards her brothers room only run into him and Ginny standing against a wall near the the meeting room. Elara looked at them for a moment.

"What are you two doing?" 

"Is he here?" Draco asked. Elara knew he was listening, they had probably heard Elara call Bellatrix and wanted to know what was going. Elara nodded her head. 

"You have to come 'identify' him." Elara said. 

"No. I won't give him up." 

"I don't think you should. Just come in, pretend to look at him and then act as if you don't recognize him. We just need to make it look real, but we don't have to give him away." Elara replied. Draco nodded his head and Elara could feel his fear radiating off of him. 

"Alright." He said shakily. Ginny grabbed his hand and kissed his forehead. Elara smiled at how close the two had gotten. 

"We have to go." Elara said after a moment. Draco nodded his head once again and then Elara led them to the hall. Bellatrix looked back at them and then looked giddy as she grabbed Draco's hand. Elara watched as Draco was dragged to Harry. Ginny laced her fingers with Elara's. 

"Draco!" She shouted "Who is this?" 

Draco stood in front of Harry. Elara could see the calm in Harry's eyes. Maybe he knew Draco wouldn't give him away. Maybe he just was happy to see the live of his life. 

"I don't know. Who is it?" Draco asked jokingly, eyeing her sideways, as if they were playing a guessing game. 

"You really have no idea who this is?" Bella asked. Draco shook his head. 

"Beats me." Draco responded. Bella looked furious and then her eyes passed something. Elara followed and she saw what Bella had seen. 

"Oh no." Elara muttered under her breath. 

"Where did you get that?" Bellatrix asked. The snatcher looked at the sword. 

"Found it on the girl." He replied. 

Elara grabbed Draco by the back of his shirt and pulled him backwards and then knocked the trio down with a pulse to the floor. Bellatrix threw a hex at the man with her sword and Elara threw one against the wall. 

The men would have fought back if they had had the chance to but Elara and Bellatrix had started so fast they stood no chance of an upper hand. 

"GET OUT!" Bellatrix yelled. The men scrambled to get up and run out. Then Bellatrix threw the boys at Draco. 

"Put the boys in the cellar!" She shouted. Draco looked at her and nodded, leading them to their makeshift dungeon. 

"And what about her?" Elara asked. 

"Oh her and I are gonna have a little talk." Bellatrix muttered. "Girl to girl."

Elara took Ginny's hand. 

"Well if you don't mind, I think you've got this so I'm gonna go back to reading." Elara said. Bellatrix didn't even look at her. 

Elara led Ginny away and after a moment Draco caught up with them and they went to Elara and Ginny's room. 

Hermione screamed, Ginny cried, Draco looked as worried as worried could be. But Elara? 

Elara never looked as dead in her life.   
________________________________

The rest of the break was boring. Nothing happened after the trip broke out. 

School was worse however. After Potter had slipped through their hands, the death eaters were being especially brutal. 

Elara was currently sitting in DADA, wondering where Alecto could be when she was startled out of her thoughts. 

"Elara!" Amycus called. Elara looked up abruptly, wide eyed and stared at her. "What are you doing?" 

"Nothing. I'm just sitting here." Elara responded. Amycus smiled maliciously at her. 

"Elara, I believe you know many things about the unforgivable curses." He said. Elara looked at him for a moment and then slowly nodded her head. 

"Yes sir." 

"Good. Come here." He ordered. Elara didn't want to do that but she knew better than to argue. 

She stood at the front and looked around. Amycus did the same until his eyes settled on someone. His smile grew wider, more terrifying. 

"Dennis, why don't you come join us as well." 

Dennis' eyes grew wide and Elara saw it. 

"Amycus, no, we don't need h-" but before he could finish he backhanded her on the face. 

"Shut the fuck up." He said. Elara nodded her head and bit her lip. Amycus turned back towards the scared boy. "Get up here." He ordered. 

Dennis slid his chair back and then walked up. He looked forward at the classroom and and the place he had been sitting. The table the he and Draco had been sitting at was now empty, considering Draco had gotten up to go sit with Ginny. Elara grabbed Dennis hand. 

"Dennis, you are going to demonstrate the cruciartis curse on Elara here." 

"What?" Ginny's said, standing up. "That's illegal!" 

"Ginny." Elara warned. Elara looked at her. "Sit down. Now." She continued to stand for a moment before Draco pulled her down, holding her hand. 

"Now Dennis." Amycus started. 

"No. I don't want to." Dennis replied. Amycus turned to the boy and scowled. 

"Dennis. It's okay baby." Elara told him. He looked at her through his tears. 

"No. I don't wanna." He repeated. 

"Now Alderson" Amycus ordered. Dennis shifted slightly but he never raised his wand. 

"Dennis, honey, it's alright. Just do it." 

But he wouldn't move. Nothing could make him. He wouldn't hurt her. He wouldn't. 

Elara let go of his hand and moved back, giving him leverage to curse her but he still hadn't moved. 

There was another second of silence before Amycus, growing tired of him just standing there, shot a curse at him. He screamed and his head went to the left from the force. 

"Hey! Back the fuck off!" Elara screamed in anger. Amycus turned and shot the same curse at her, cutting her arm, then he threw his hand out and grabbed her, pulled her up by her hair so they were the same height. 

"Do not tell me what to do." He ordered. He took his wand and burned her stomach, almost like it was a cigarette. She bit her lip to keep her from crying out in pain, drawing a bit of blood. He let her go and she stumbled. 

She looked at Dennis who finally looked back at her. He had his hand covering his right cheek. 

"Dennis, it's alright. Go ahead." Elara soothed. Dennis was sobbing he took his hand away from his cheek and Elara could see his deep the cut really was. It had to hurt and if she didn't get to it soon it would definitely scar. He wiped away a tear, taking some blood with it. 

"Alderson." Amycus warned but Dennis didn't even hear him anymore, he didn't want to. Dennis was focused on Elara. 

"Please Dennis. Just do it." Elara begged. He slowly nodded his head. He took another deep breath. Then he raised his wand. 

"Crucio." He whispered. 

Elara started to scream in pain and Dennis immediately let it go. 

"What're you doing Anderson?!" Amycus screamed. 

"I don't want to do this." Dennis spluttered, sobbing. 

"I don't care. Continue." He replied. Elara looked up at the boy, and smiled at him. 

"Mummy." He spluttered. Elara felt her tears as he spoke those words. 

"It's alright baby. I'm okay. Keep going." Elara told him. He stood still for a a moment before casting the curse once again. This time Elara held it in. She wouldn't scream, for his sake she would hold it in. Dennis cried. Ginny was being held down by Draco, because that was her fiancée being tortured and the boy who was like a son to her was being forced to do it. 

After a another moment, Amycus became bored. 

"Oh for fucks sake." He muttered. He pointed his wand over towards the two in front. "Crucio." 

Elara wished the wand had been pointed at her but when those nonchalant words were spoken, the curse was taken off. She heard Dennis screaming and she looked up from trying to catch her breath. She was horrified. 

"Stop." She whispered, still getting her strength back. Amycus continued. 

"Let go of him." She said a little louder. He didn't, in fact he laughed instead. 

"I'm warning you. Let him go!" She yelled. He didn't. Elara's face warped into something terrifying. 

"Wrong choice." 

Elara flipped the chalkboard and Amycus barley dodged it. Dennis was catching his breath when Ginny ran up and hugged him. Amycus stared at her. 

"Think about what you're doing Malfoy and then do yourself a favor and don't." He told her. Elara kicked him in the stomach and he fell. She kicked his face twice and then she placed her food on his neck. 

"Do not tell me what to do." She said. She kicked his face once more, effectively knocking him out before running and hugging Dennis. He held onto her. 

"Come on, we have to go." Draco said after a moment. Elara pulled back and nodded her head, before following her brother to the room of requirement. 

She ran into the room and looked around. Ginny ran up and kissed her. They pulled away and Ginny looked at her. 

"What do we do now?" Ginny asked. Elara laughed. 

"I have absolutely no idea." 

Shit.


	15. The War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elara looked at her brother, the one she hadn't seen since his escape, standing in front of the portrait with Ron and Hermione. 
> 
> The sea parted and there was a path. Draco, Elara, Dennis, and Ginny stood at one end. Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Harry stood up the other. 
> 
> There was a seconds pause and no one moved. 
> 
> And then Elara started waking, slowly at first, and then speeding up. By the time she was close to him she was running. She jumped into his arms, crying. 
> 
> "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were worried" Harry said, hugging Elara tighter. She pulled away. 
> 
> "If I don't know any better I'd say you were an idiot. But I do know better. You're not an idiot, just an insufferable jerk with an ego the size of the whole Wizarding World." Elara joked. Harry smiled and Elara smiled back.

"Harry." 

Draco's voice had come through the waves of students, soft but strong. 

Elara looked at her brother, the one she hadn't seen since his escape, standing in front of the portrait with Ron and Hermione. 

The sea parted and there was a path. Draco, Elara, Dennis, and Ginny stood at one end. Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Harry stood up the other. 

There was a seconds pause and no one moved. 

And then Elara started waking, slowly at first, and then speeding up. By the time she was close to him she was running. She jumped into his arms, crying. 

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were worried" Harry said, hugging Elara tighter. She pulled away. 

"If I don't know any better I'd say you were an idiot. But I do know better. You're not an idiot, just an insufferable jerk with an ego the size of the whole Wizarding World." Elara joked. Harry smiled and Elara smiled back. 

"Me? You're the one who's an insufferable know it all." Harry joked back. 

"That's because I do know all." Elara told him. Harry grabbed her hand. 

"I know." He replied. Elara kissed his forehead and then moved back. 

She smiled and hugged Hermione and then Ron. She turned and looked at Harry again and he was hugging Ginny. Draco was still frozen on the other side. Ginny moved and hugged her brother. 

"Are you gonna leave me over here without the love of my life because everyone else has theirs." Harry called out. Draco laughed lightly through his tears. Dennis grabbed Draco's hand and pulled him forward. Draco moved slowly across the room. 

They reached the other side and Dennis let go and went over to Elara. He turned so he was facing the scene and she held him from behind. 

"I thought you were dead." Draco said. 

"I thought I was too." Harry replied. Draco reached up and placed his hand on Harry's cheek. Harry melted into it. And then Draco pulled them into a hug. Harry held him tighter than he ever had before. They pulled away only to kiss. 

Elara smiled at them.

Ginny walked up next to Elara and she grabbed Dennis' hand. They were happy, the three of them together, even if for only a moment. 

"Okay. You're here for a reason or you wouldn't risk coming here." Elara said. Harry looked back at her. And Draco moved to stand next to him. 

"Yes. We're looking for a horcrux here in the castle." Harry said. 

"What is it?" Ginny asked. 

"We don't know." He responded. 

"Okay, where is it?" She continued. 

"We don't know that either." He replied. Elara laughed, not that there was any power or happiness behind it. "I realize that's not much to go on."

"That is actually nothing to go on." Elara said from behind him. 

"We know it has something to do with Ravenclaw. It's will be small and easily concealed." Harry said. Elara smiled. 

"How the hell are we supposed to know what-" Seamus began. 

"Actually, that is something to go on. My best guess is the diadem" Elara said. 

"No ones seen that in years." Cho said from the crowd. 

"That would be the point. Wouldn't being a lost artifact make it the perfect Horcrux?" Elara said. 

"I'm sorry, not genius talking." Ron said. Elara turned. "What is a bloody diadem?" 

"It's a small crown." Elara told him as simply as possible. He nodded his head. That's when Luna walked in. 

"Luna?" Ginny asked. Luna looked frantic and there was a fresh cut in her forehead. "What's wrong?" 

"Snape knows Harry's been spotted in Hogsmede. He's called a meeting. Everyone is to report to the great hall immediately or face punishment from the carrows."

The Carrows. 

Elara didn't know how to get all of them in the great hall with the Carrows, they would kill her on the spot.

But who cared now because they were all in risk of dying anyways. 

The war had begun  
________________________________

Harry devised the plan. Elara didn't like thee plan but she went along with it. 

"Elara, you don't have to. I can get someone else to do it but I don't know who else even knows what I'm looking for."

"Harry, you're my brother and you need help. Of course I'm going to." 

"It's dangerous." He told her. She smiled at him

"I'd be upset if it wasn't."   
________________________________

Dennis stood in line in between Elara and Draco. He held both of their hands and it was clear he was scared. 

Snape slid through the lines and continued to talk about Harry. 

"If anyone knows about his whereabouts this evening I invite them to step forward. Now." 

And then Harry stepped out. Elara smirked. 

"It seems despite your exhaustive efforts you may have a bit of a security problem headmaster." Harry said. Elara watched as everyone came through the doors. Sirius and Remus, Tonks, Fleur, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Arthur, Molly, Ron, Hermione. 

Everyone.

"I'm afraid it's quite extensive." 

Elara's whole life was there, standing in front of her. 

"You want to tell them who you are? What you've done?" Harry asked. It was in this moment Elara realized that Harry didn't know. He didn't know what Severus had done for them, how he had been there for them.

"Harry." Elara said. Harry looked at her as Severus drew.  

Playing the part. 

Elara was about to defend Harry when Mcgonagall stepped forward, doing what Elara had intended to do. 

Elara watched as she knocked down the Carrows and Snape flew away. There were cheers of victory. Elara smiled at the sight of the Carrows on the floor. 

Then they were replaced by the whispers. He was in her head, in all of their heads.  

And then the screaming. From a first year, from Pavarti, from Ginny. 

"I know that many of you will want to fight. Some of you may even think that to fight is wise, but this is a folly. Give me Harry Potter. Do this and nothing will be harmed. Give me Harry Potter and I shall leave Hogwarts untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded. You will have one hour." 

And just like the instant it was there, it was gone. 

Elara breathed in deeply before she heard Astoria Greengrass speak. 

"What's are we waiting for, grab him." She said. 

Fear. 

Elara looked at the fear in Astoria's eyes that mirrored her own. 

Draco walked and stood in front of Harry, blocking him. And then more joined. Elara stood, watching Astoria. She gestured towards Goyle and Crabbe. They both stepped forward and so did Elara. 

She stood in between Harry and them, wand raised. 

"I wouldn't." She warned. They stared her down. 

"That's enough." Minerva said after a moment. The boys turned to look at her. "Fred, George, if you two wouldn't mind escorting the Slytherin's out of the great hall with Bill please?" 

"And where should we take them ma'am?" Fred asked, a large grin spread across his face. 

"The dungeons will do." She replied. Elara smiled, knowing that she, Draco, Dennis, and a few others weren't included. She watched as they were led away. Then she turned to Fleur and Tonks. 

"Would you lead any younger years and anyone who doesn't want to fight to the slytherin common room, make sure they are comfortable and okay?" She continued. 

"Of course." Fleur responded, smiling. She began to walk to the door, Tonks and the people in the category followed. 

Well except Dennis. 

"What's are you doing?" Elara asked. Dennis looked at her. 

"Getting myself killed." He said. Elara frowned. 

"No you aren't. You don't get to copy me. Please go with them." Elara said. 

"Mum, I'm not going anywhere if I think your in danger of dying." Dennis said. 

"If I'm always looking over my shoulder to see if your alive then I will be. I've got everyone to protect me. Please, go, keep everyone down there safe. That's where they need you. You're strong, not fearful which is what everyone else will be. Protect them, they need someone to do that. Please." Elara said. Dennis stood a moment before nodding. Elara kneeled down and he fell into her arms for what very well may be the last time. She couldn't help her sobs. 

She kissed him on the forehead. 

"Okay." She said, holding back the rest of her tears. He walked away, looking back every few steps until he was out of the great hall. She took a few deep breaths and then surveying the room. She smiled when her eyes landed on Sirius. 

She walked towards him, smiling as he made eye contact with her and smiled back and she hugged him. He smiled into it. 

"How are you kid?" He asked. Elara laughed but there was absolutely no humor behind it. 

"I'm a mess. You?" 

"He's always been a mess. You and I both know that." Remus said from behind her. Elara smiled at him and then hugged him. 

She wanted to cry, in fact, she almost did. 

This could be it. This could be her end, the last time she sees her son. The last time with her dad's and her brothers and Ginny. 

This could be it. 

This could be it.   
________________________________

Her work was fantastic, but when wasn't it? Elara looked at the the bridge and then smiled at Seamus. 

"Nice work Finnegan." She complimented. Seamus smiled at her. 

"Thank you, but I'm pretty sure watching you place those with on the bridge without a wand is a fair bit more impressive." Seamus said. Elara smirked. 

"Isn't it?" Elara joked. Seamus smiled at her.

"Oh no." Ginny muttered. Elara then looked forward to the death eaters running at them. Elara took a deep breath. 

"Okay! Neville needs a three second head start and then we blow these things. Ready?" 

"Yeah!" A hufflepuff yelled from the back, holding the wire. 

"NEVILLE, NOW!" Ginny shouted. Neville began sprinting and the death eaters followed. 

One. 

Holy shit.

Two. 

Holy shit. 

Three. 

Holy fucking shit. 

"GO!" Elara yelled to the back. There was a millisecond of silence before the first explosion went off and the bridge began to fall. 

Neville began running faster as the bridge behind him fell. They were getting closer and closer to Elara. She threw her hands out, prepared to throw everyone back to save them from being attacked. All of the death eaters were gone and then so was Neville. 

"NEVILLE!" Ginny screamed. Elara ran forward towards the edge and looked over. She let go of the breath she had been holding and reached her hand over, taking a hold of a beam with the other, and helped pull him up. 

Then she hugged him. 

"Woah, El" He said. Elara let go. "That was a first." 

"We're at war Neville, everything is a first" Elara responded. Neville nodded his head and hugged her again. 

"Thank you." He said. Elara smiled. 

"You're welcome." 

"El." Ginny said. Elara turned to her. "Babe, we have to go." 

"Yeah. I know." Elara said. She turned back to Neville. "Stay safe, we'll need you." 

Then she turned on her heel, walking away with Ginny towards the castle and probably her death. 

She smiled and grabbed Ginny's hand. They stood at the entrance. 

"You ready?" Ginny asked, looking out at the fighting in front of them.

"Yeah. I am." Elara replied. She looked over at Ginny and then kissed her. 

"I love you." Ginny muttered, resting her forehead on Elara's. 

"I love you more." Elara replied. She pulled back and nodded her head and then they ran off in opposite directions into the death and pain. 

The war continued   
________________________________

This would have been a whole fuck of a lot easier had Elara still been pretending to be on the wrong side. In fact she honestly didn't know how to do it at all without being on Voldemorts side. This was impossible. 

How the hell was she supposed to find this horcrux? 

She threw a spell at a death eater coming towards her.

By now Voldemort knew she was fighting on the other side, he would be stupid not to and if Elara knew one thing for certain she knew Voldemort was not stupid. 

"Elara." 

Elara turned to look at her father. 

"Yes." 

"He wants to see you. He knows everything." Lucius told her. Elara's eyes flashed with fear. "I've been sent to get you." 

"I figured as much." Elara muttered. She took a deep breath. 

"Run." Lucius said. Elara furrowed her brows. "Go, run. Stay away from the docks." 

"Father, if he finds out you've let me go-" 

"I know the consequences, I'm willing to take them. You have a long life ahead of you, longer than mine. You've always been good, and you'll make the wizarding world better." 

She hugged him, tight, almost unwilling to let go because when she did he was as good as dead. He pulled away from her. 

"Thank you." She said. 

"For what? I'm your dad, it's my job to protect you no matter what. Now, run." 

"I love you." She told him. Lucius nodded his head, holding his hand on her arm. 

There was a pause as he looked at his daughter lovingly for the last time, he didn't have to say it. Elara knew, Elara always knew. "Go." 

And Elara ran.   
________________________________

Elara felt the ground shake below her. She knew the school was doomed in the moment and then she realized what was right below her. 

"Dennis." She muttered before running down the stairs towards the dungeons. 

Elara sprinted into the blown up common room in tears. 

"DENNIS!" Elara screamed. She didn't hear him respond. 

"DENNIS?!" Elara was frantic. She was moving stones and looking through the whole room. 

"Please, Dennis, please." She said quieter. She threw her hands to the side and rubble began flying away from the doors in front of the dorm rooms. She waited a moment to see if anyone would come out but nothing happened 

"DAMNIT!" She screamed. She could feel herself seething with anger. 

Then she heard the movement. 

"Mummy." Dennis voice was so quiet it was almost unheard but it may as well have been screaming because the power behind him threw Elara back. She looked at him. He walked out of the her dorm room, which had been untouched, and everyone followed.

"Oh thank god."

She walked over to him, stumbling over the stones, and he ran, leaping into her arms. 

"I thought it was unsafe out there but you had wards in your room to keep out the Carrows so I thought it would be safer for all of us in there." He said. Elara pulled back and looked at him. 

"That had to be incredibly crowded." Elara muttered. 

"Yeah well it was worth it. We protected everyone and no one felt alone." He responded. Elara smiled and then kissed his forehead, looking at him for a moment, before standing up. 

"Okay, listen up!" Elara shouted. They all looked at her. "We have to make a stand to save the school. If you're afraid to fight because you'll die or your too inexperienced I promise it's no safer anywhere else anymore. If you're out there, you're with friends who can help you, but here you're alone. We need all of you. First years, second years, and anyone still unwilling to fight are going to the room of requirement to be flooed out of here to somewhere safer. Everyone who is willing to stand for their home and the people they love are coming with me." Elara said. 

To her surprise almost everyone third year and above stepped forward, and she couldn't blame the ones that didn't. This was war, people died and even Mcgonagall was scared, hell Elara herself was terrified, how could she blame them for being the same. 

But this was war. There was no room for scared 

Elara smiled and led the whole group to the room of requirement. She smiled at Fleur. 

"Where should we take them?" Tonks asked. 

"Grimauld. Fleur, you stay. Tonks get them there and then come back, we'll need you and Fleur is more natural at caring for people over one years old. I'll come to Grimauld when it's over so we can bring them back." Elara told them. Tonks nodded her head and then went to open the door. Dennis hugged Elara. 

"I love you." He said to her. Elara wasn't going to cry. She couldn't. Not anymore. 

"I love you more." She responded. 

"Don't die please." He said. Elara hugged him tighter. 

"I won't." She replied. He let go and stood across from Elara who was kneeling in front of him at his eye level. 

"You promise?" He asked, holding out his pinky. Elara placed her pinky finger in his. 

"I promise." She replied, hoping she wasn't lying to him. He, being satisfied with the answer, hugged her once more and then made his way through the door. Fleur smiled apologetically at her. 

"We'll keep him safe." She assured. Elara nodded her head, she knew that was true but it didn't make if hurt any less. 

"Thank you." 

And then the door shut and they were gone.   
________________________________

"You have fought valiantly but in vain. I do not wish this. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a terrible waste. I therefore command my forces to retreat. In their absence, dispose of your dead with dignity." 

There was pause and Elara's heart was beating so fast you could hear it in the silence. 

"Harry Potter, I now speak directly to you. On this night, you have allowed your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. There is no greater dishonor. Join me in the Forbidden Forest and confront your fate. If you do not do this I shall kill every last man, woman and child who tries to conceal you from me. You have one hour." 

Elara was worried but she had no reason to be. Harry wouldn't go, he was smarter than that. He would never go. He would be fine. 

Elara wandered through the hall and saw Ginny and Luna, sitting on the ground next to a body. They looked exhausted. Elara walked up slowly. 

"Ginny?" Elara asked. Ginny turned her head to look at Elara, tears in her eyes. Elara got closer to see who it was. 

Lying there in the rubble was Lavender who had been killed clearly by Greyback. Elara took a few deep breaths and then took Ginny's hand and pulled her up. 

"This is... it's..."Ginny couldn't find the words. Elara looked at her. 

"Come on you two, let's take her to the great hall, let her be at peace in the home she loved." Elara said. Luna nodded her head and stood. Elara used her wand and lifted Lavenders body up off of the ground. She walked her to the great hall and sat her on one of the first blankets she saw, then she covered her with another.

"Ginny!" Molly shouted. Ginny turned her head to look at her mother and then she saw her whole family standing there. She smiled in relief for a moment before her face fell. Elara looked down. 

"Oh my god." Elara muttered. 

"NO!" Ginny screamed, running towards Fred's body. Elara's heart broke as she watched Ginny run towards them. Elara followed and caught Ginny as she began to fall. She held her and she sobbed. Elara couldn't help her tears as she helped Ginny to her mothers arms. 

And then she looked over towards the stairs. 

Elara saw Sirius and she smiled out of relief through her tears. 

"Dad." She said. Sirius looked up, tears in his eyes. Elara's small smile faded. She looked down at Remus. 

"Dad, is he- is that?" She asked, hoping for anything but the truth. Sirius nodded his head. "No. please no." She walked towards the steps, and then fell next to Remus. 

He was pale but he still seemed warm. Sirius grabbed her hand and he pulled her into his chest. She sobbed into it as he held her and rocked her back and forth. 

Remus was dead. 

But that was war.


	16. The War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm glad you can see us." 
> 
> "What do you mean, why wouldn't I be able to see you if we're all dead?" Elara asked. Narcissa smiled at her and then kissed Elara on her forehead. 
> 
> "It's okay. You'll understand soon. Everything will make sense." 
> 
> And then Elara felt like she was fading. She looked down. 
> 
> "Mum, what's happening?" Elara asked but Narcissa didn't respond. She looked around. 
> 
> "Severus?" She asked. He said nothing and she turned. 
> 
> "Pansy?" Elara continued.
> 
> "Dad!" She shouted. Remus was the only person who looked as if he wanted to say something but he didn't. His mouth just sat open. Zilch. No one said a thing. 
> 
> And then Elara was gone.

It had taken Elara a while to force herself to get up but when she saw Ron and Hermione sitting alone without Harry she knew where he was. 

She just hoped it wasn't true.

She approached the two slowly. They looked up at her and she could already tell she was not going to like the answer to her question. 

"Where's Harry?" Elara asked. Ron looked at her and shook his head. Hermione just cried. 

"Ronald. Please, where's Harry?" 

"You know where he is El." He replied. 

"I was hoping I was wrong." Elara told them. It took a moment for what Ron told Elara to sink in. 

"Oh my god." Elara muttered, falling backwards onto the stair below her. Ronald looked at her empathetically.

"Elara I'm sorry. I know how much he means to you." Hermione told her. Elara sniffed and wiped away a tear. 

"He meant as much to me as he did to you." Elara smiled sadly. 

"No. He meant more. He was your best friend, no. He was more than that. You spent more time with him then we ever have, you lived with him. Yeah, we were his best friends but you were his sister." 

Elara had tried to keep it together, she had promised Harry she would be strong but she couldn't help the tears streaming down her face. She wanted to scream. She wanted to see Harry again. She didn't really know what to do.  
She looked around the great hall, everyone mourning, and then she broke. Sirius looked up from where he had been sitting, looking at Fred's body, with Molly and George. He stood up immediately and made his way over to her. 

"Elara." He murmured sympathetically. He sat on the stair and pulled Elara into his chest. Sirius kissed her forehead and allowed her to sob. 

"He's left us." Elara whispered. 

"What?"

"He's gone. Harry went to the forest, the bastard." Elara sobbed. Sirius looked forward and then he hugged Elara tighter, his sadness  overwhelmed by the sound of Elara's sobs. 

She continued until they heard the footsteps. 

A lot of them. 

She followed everyone out of the great hall and onto the courtyard and then squeezed her way to the front of her crowd to see the deatheaters marching towards them. 

She saw Hagrid, carrying Harry. 

"Damn it!" She cried. She stared at Harry. 

"Elara?" Draco called. Elara saw Draco emerge from the great hall and make his way to beside her. He looked forward at Harry's body. He grabbed her hand. 

Draco's heart was breaking, Elara could see it. In fact she could hear it. Draco had tears streaming down his face as he stepped closer and closer to the approaching crowd. Elara's hand hurt from how hard Draco was squeezing it but she didn't dare let go. 

"Tell me it's not him." He said quietly 

"You know I can't do that." Elara responded. 

"He can't be dead. He just can't." Draco was still crying, standing at the front of the crowd. 

Voldemort stepped forward. 

"HARRY POTTER IS DEAD!" 

"NO!" Ginny began to run forward. Elara let go of Draco's hand and caught Ginny. Ginny stared into Elara's eyes. 

"Elara, I already lost Fred. I can't loose another brother. I just can't." Ginny collapsed into Elara's arms. 

"I'm sorry love. I'm so sorry." 

"No." Ginny begged. Elara kissed her forehead and held her as she began to fall. Ginny screamed in response. 

"If you two are done." Bellatrix called. Elara snapped her head towards her. She felt someone grab Ginny and she looked to see George holding her. 

'I'm sorry.' She mouthed at him. He smiled sadly in response. 

'Me too.' George mouthed in response, then he turned his attention to his sister. He held her close

"That bastard" Draco whispered. Elara looked back towards her brother. She couldn't tell if he was talking about Voldemort or Harry. She stared at him for a moment. He looked frozen. 

"Draco?" He turned his head to look at her. His face was dirty and the only clean spots were where the tears streamed down. 

"He's dead." He said. 

Elara nodded her head. 

"Harry is dead." He repeated. He sounded as if he was saying to himself, trying to make sense of his world, crumbling around him. Elara felt his pain, physically. She felt everything he was and it was killing her slowly. 

"Yes. He is." Elara confirmed, tears streaming down her face. Draco looked forward for a moment with a look of disparity before running off to the side and throwing up. Elara went to run to her brother side but she was stopped. 

"ELARA MALFOY!" Elara closed her eyes tight for a moment in an attempt to control her anger and then she opened them and turned her head. She saw Bellatrix looking at her. 

"What?" She said rudely. 

"Listen to your lord." Bellatrix replied. Elara leagues lightly and then turned to face Bella. 

"No offense aunt but my brother is more important to me than your dark lord." She said. Bella gasped 

"How dare you?!" She shrieked. 

"It's alright Bella, our little friend here is just confused. She will follow her path." Voldemort almost smiled. He looked at her forearm and the back at her. She looked down at her arm with disgust. Draco walked back up next her. 

"You're right. I will follow my path, all the way to helping Harry kill you." She said angrily. Then something unexpected happened. 

Voldemort laughed 

Elara was steaming with anger. 

"How dare you laugh!" Draco screamed. "You've murdered thousands of people including the man I love and you have the audacity to stand up there and laugh! If that doesn't show you that you will loose, that fact that you're a heartless monster, then I don't know what will." 

Pause. Elara looked right into Voldemort's eyes. 

"Harry Potter will stop you." Elara finished 

"Harry Potter is dead." Someone spat, ripping Elara's heart in half. She looked over to see Theodore's father staring straight at her, laughing. He was saying it directly to her because he knew how much it hurt. Elara looked back at Theo and saw the look of pure hatred on his face. She smiled sadly at him and he nodded his head in apology.

"Yes. Harry Potter is dead. From now on you will put your faith in me. Anyone who chooses not to join me right now will die. This is your only chance." 

Elara stood still at the front of the crowd. 

"Draco. Elara. Come." Lucius called to them. Both stood still. 

He was still trying to save them. He didn't want them to die. 

"Come, now" He commanded after a moment of staring at them. They both continued to stand. 

"Now. " 

Elara looked over a Draco, and he seemed to understand exactly what she was asking without her even saying it. He nodded his head. 

"You know what father?" She asked, her head still facing Draco. Draco smiled at her and Elara smiled back. 

She paused and looked back towards Lucius. 

"Bite me." Elara spat simply. Draco grabbed her hand in support. She smiled sadly at him then looked back at the death eaters. They we're all shocked. Neither of the Malfoy children ever disobeyed their father and they certainly were never rude to him. It just didn't make sense. 

Voldemort pulled out his wand. 

"You can do whatever you want but I will never follow you. Harry James Potter was my brother and I love him with all my heart. I'm willing to give up my life for him and I know I'm not alone. Harry has been stopping you since before he was born and him being dead won't stop him. You do whatever you want to you son of a bitch because I will never fight for you." 

Pause. 

She looked at Draco then back at Voldemort. 

"Never." 

He began to say the curse. 

"Stop!" A voice called. Everyone turned to the source to see Neville Longbottom holding a sword. 

"She's right. We're all behind her and we will continue to be until you kill every last one of us. Harry was and still is our chosen one and he will stop you. So, you wanna hurt someone? Hurt me." He told him. Voldemort smiled . 

"Or me." 

Pause. The whole world stopped and Elara felt her tears fall. 

"Harry." Draco said breathlessly. Elara smiled 

"Atta boy." Elara whispered to herself. Voldemort became enraged and Harry ran, Elara following with Draco. 

"Harry!" Draco called. Harry turned and Draco ran full speed at him. They kissed and Harry held Draco. Elara approached slower. Draco and Harry let go, foreheads still touching. 

"You son of a bitch." Elara said. Harry looked at her and smiled. Draco and Harry let go. Elara ran forward and Harry caught her, lifting her. 

"If you ever do that again I swear to god I'll kill you myself." She claimed. Harry smiled. 

"I will never do that again." He told her. Elara smiled at him. 

"Okay. What do I do? Continue trying to find the next horcrucx?" Elara asked, letting go of him. 

"Its Nagini. We have to kill the snake but you need to go to the Great hall. Voldemort won't be happy. We have to protect the people, heal them, do what you're good at. You see Neville, tell him he has to kill the snake with the sword. It's the only way." He told her. Elara nodded. She hugged Harry and then Draco. She kissed his forehead. 

"Be safe." She told them both. They nodded their heads. 

"We'll try." Harry told her. She ran off, the last thing she saw of the two boys she loved most was them kissing. She smiled and then she turned the corner. 

Elara was shooting curses left and right. She was fighting not only for her future brother in law but for the person she loved most in the world. She sprinted into the great hall and looked around for everyone she was worried about. The Weasley's were together and fighting but Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be seen. Elara cursed under her breath and then shot a curse at a death eater she didn't even recognize. 

"Elara!" She heard. She turned. 

"Theo!" She replied. She ran to him. 

"You seen my father?" He asked. She shook her head. "If you do, make sure he pays for what he did to my mother and my sister? I have to go find Daphne and make sure she lives" He requested. 

"Absolutely." She told him. He nodded his head at her. 

"Thank you." He muttered. Elara smiled at him and then he ran off. 

She continued on. She saw Luna fighting Amycus and Elara smirked as Luna sent him spiraling backwards. 

"Luna!" She shouted. Luna looked her way. "You seen Neville?!" 

"No." Luna responded. 

"If you see him, send him my way?" Elara requested. Luna nodded her head. "Thank you, and brilliant stunning charm." Elara complimented.

"Thank you. Not as brilliant as yours." 

And before Elara had a chance to respond, Luna was back to defending the school. 

She ran and looked for Neville but she didn't find him, not before she found someone else. 

"Mr. Nott!" She screamed. He turned his head and smirked. 

"Let me guess, my son asked you to kill me?" 

"No. He asked me to make you pay." She replied smirking. She threw a curse and he dodged it. He backed her into a corner. He began to laugh. 

"Expelliumus" he said. Her wand flew. 

"You stupid little girl." He laughed. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and then smirked. He looked confused. Elara opened her eyes and then his wand flew. 

"I can't believe you thought you would win this when I can preform wandless magic. Why the hell do you think Voldemort made me a deatheater in my fifth year?" Elara asked. She smiled and then she threw him backwards. He flew to another wall and everyone watched, either impressed or afraid. She then lifted him and he felt his lungs begin to contract. He was all the way at the top of the building when she began to talk again. 

"This is for your wife and daughter, you know the ones you tortured to death? The ones that were 42 and 8?" She told him. He took his last breath and then she threw him to the ground. 

Elara took a few deep breaths, almost afraid of what she had just done but then she remembered how he had tortured his wife and daughter for 3 weeks before he killed them. Then she didn't feel bad. She threw her hand out and her wand flew into it. She took two more deep breaths and then went back to fighting. 

And then the curse. 

"You chose the wrong side." Lucius said blankly. Elara knew what was happening. 

"Daddy, please. Don't do this. Fight." Elara begged. 

"You shouldn't have disappointed us!" He replied. He shot her with a curse, then another. 

"I just saw you choke Theodore's father to death. I've done worse to you than he ever would have. Why aren't you fighting back?!" 

"You're my family. I'm not going hurt you to save myself" 

She looked down at the ground and then she dropped her wand. She looked back up into Lucius' eyes

"I'm not going to fight you."

Lucius looked at her. 

"I'm sorry." He said. He was fighting but it was useless. Elara nodded her head and then she quickly looked around the room and saw the red hair she loves so much. 

"WEASLEY!" She screamed. The owner of the red hair turned. 

"I love you. Forever and always." Elara said. Elara saw her love running across the Great Hall but she knew that she was doomed. Elara turned and closed her eyes. Lucius took a deep breath and looked at his daughter for the last time. He tried to fight but he couldn't. 

"Sectumsempra!"

Elara looked down at her stomach, pressing her hand to one of the large gashes and pulling it away to look at the blood. She stared for a moment and then she fell to the ground. 

Lucius seemed to snap out of it. 

"Elara." He said. He almost went towards her but at the last minute he stepped back. "I'm sorry." 

He made his way out of the great hall and Draco looked over towards where he heard his father say the curse. He saw Elara, bleeding out on the ground and he immediately started to run for her. 

As for what Elara felt, it hurt. 

Not the cuts, no, the cuts were nothing compared to the mental shit. Elara's whole life was flashing before her eyes. 

Ginny had collapsed to the ground next to Elara and Draco had begun running over. 

"EL! Stay awake, you're okay, stay awake baby." Ginny muttered. Elara smiled at her and brought her hand up to Ginny's face, accidentally wiping some of her blood on her fiancées face. 

"I love you." Elara breathed. Ginny shook her head as Elara's eyes began to shut. 

"NO! El, keep your eyes open, please, come on." 

At this point Draco had shown up and had began muttering the countercurse but it was too late. 

Elara closed her eyes and then there was just blank, and darkness. 

And nothing. 

Nothing. 

Nothing.  
________________________________

"Well, this is certainly not surprising." 

Elara knew that voice. She turned to see him, Severus, standing in the empty bright grassy field. 

"You are the type of person who sees death coming and still lets it happen." 

"Severus you dumb bastard." Elara muttered. He raised his eyebrows at her. 

"That's no way to talk to your godfather." He said. 

"It's the way to talk about my dead one." Elara responded. 

"Well at least I didn't just stand there, knowing my own father was about to kill me under the imperius." 

"What should I have done?" 

"Stunned him, deflected it. Anything but stood there." 

"Well, what's done is done." Elara replied. Severus reached his hand out and placed it on her cheek. She smiled. He placed a light kiss on her forehead and then Elara hugged him. 

"Do I get one?" Remus asked from next to him Elara pulled back and kissed Severus' forehead then turned 

"Yes. You do. Of course you do." Elara responded. Remus looked at her apologetically and she hugged him. 

"I'm sorry Elara." He said. Elara pulled away from him. 

"Why are you sorry Dad. I'm dead too." Elara replied. 

She knew that. It wasn't hard to know that. 

"Because I saw you after you found my body. It was heartbreaking." 

"Even I cried." Pansy muttered. 

Elara turned abruptly and looked Pansy in the eyes. She felt breathless before crashing into her, hugging her harder than she ever imagined. 

"You complete idiot Pansy Parkinson!" Elara shouted. 

"I know. I'm sorry." Pansy replied but Elara didn't care about that because she was here now, in her arms. 

"I guess it's my turn." A voice said from behind. Elara pulled away from Pansy and turned. 

The force of Elara's mothers face in front her own almost knocked Elara over entirely. 

"Mother."

Elara was almost unable to say it. She was stuck, frozen in the time that wasn't going. 

Her mother stepped forward and placed her hand on Elara's cheek. Elara felt her tears as she pulled Narcissa into a hug.

"My brave, brave girl. Fighting for everyone but yourself." Narcissa muttered into Elara's hair. Elara felt- she had no idea how she felt. She felt everything and nothing all at once.

Narcissa pulled back. 

"I'm glad you can see us." 

"What do you mean, why wouldn't I be able to see you if we're all dead?" Elara asked. Narcissa smiled at her and then kissed Elara on her forehead. 

"It's okay. You'll understand soon. Everything will make sense." 

And then Elara felt like she was fading. She looked down. 

"Mum, what's happening?" Elara asked but Narcissa didn't respond. She looked around. 

"Severus?" She asked. He said nothing and she turned. 

"Pansy?" Elara continued.

"Dad!" She shouted. Remus was the only person who looked as if he wanted to say something but he didn't. His mouth just sat open. Zilch. No one said a thing. 

And then Elara was gone.  
________________________________

They had tried, they really had. Draco had healed her as best he could with the spell Snape used on him. Ginny had held her as Poppy attempt to revive her but it was pointless. 

Elara Malfoy was as dead as dead could be. 

Draco was in shock, sitting by himself. Harry was staring at Elara. Ginny was holding Dennis, who had just returned from the safe house. 

Sirius couldn't help the tears as he stared at his daughter. 

Remus was gone, James was gone, Tonks, Fred. 

And Elara was just a memory now. 

Harry moved to sit next to Draco who immediately threw himself into Harry's chest. Harry held him. 

And then Elara gasped and her eyes shot open. 

She looked around as she sat up rapidly but she wasn't in a field anymore. She was in the great hall. She looked around for a moment before Dennis launched himself at her. Elara sat still for a split second before wrapping her arms around him. 

"Mummy." He muttered, tears in his eyes. Elara help onto him tighter than she imagined. He held on for another moment before he pulled back. 

Sirius, without warning, grabbed her and pulled her up, engulfing her within his arms without a second thought. Elara held onto him with the same force. He would have never let her go if not for Draco standing there, needing to hold his sister. Sirius pulled away and Elara looked at Draco. 

"Dray-" She began but he had pulled her into a hug before she could even say another word. 

As for Harry, the hug was short. He was glad she was alive but he was hurt, everywhere, and he knew she had someone else to see. 

"Elara." Ginny said. Elara smiled apologetically. 

"I'm sorry Ginny." Elara said. Ginny wiped away a tear from her face and then she kissed Elara, short, sweet, and to the point.

"Please don't ever do that again." Ginny muttered. Elara would have responded but they both knew she didn't have to she would never do that again. She didn't need to. 

Because the war was over and she was going to go home. 

They all were.


	17. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Theodore, he's gone. Let go." Elara continued. Theo looked up at her and then back down. 
> 
> "Oh. I- I'm sorry. I just didn't..." 
> 
> His sentence stopped there as he let go of the artery, almost hesitant to let go.   
> 
> "Theo, it's alright love. Are you okay?" Elara asked. 
> 
> "I think so. I just didn't expect him to die." Theo muttered. Elara looked at him apologetically. 
> 
> "Neither did we."

The air was dirty, that's how bad the atmosphere felt. The once beautiful place was a now practically unseeable from the dust. 

It still hadn't settled. 

Elara had woken up, taken a moment to find herself, and then went immediately into healing. She fell into a routine. 

"Hell Black, you're a mighty fine healer." Theodore Nott muttered as he watched her revive a man on the brink of death.

"I feel I would be better if you weren't breathing over my shoulder." Elara muttered, still catching her breath from death. She felt light headed, no matter what potions she took she felt that way, but she never stopped working. She just continued doing what she felt she did best.

"I don't believe that. Since the start of this year, you've been healing exclusively under pressure with everyone watching your every move. I think you would actually struggle to do it under normal situations." 

"I think bringing people back from the dead is pressure enough." Elara muttered in reply, standing up and wiping the blood off of her hands and onto her sweater. She looked down at the sweater Molly had made for her, first remembered to apologize for ruining the sweater, and then wondered how many people had their blood on her hands and chest, literally, before deciding that didn't matter as much as saving people. She moved to the next cot, the woman in a quickly done in a freezing charm, keeping her blood from out of her newly missing leg. Elara could see she had been screaming as they froze her, probably in pain. 

Elara took a few breaths and then revived her. The woman began to scream again. Elara tried to work on her leg but she wouldn't stop moving. Elara wished she could have kept her frozen, or had anymore calming draught but she was out and you can't treat someone when they're frozen. This was what she had to work with. 

"Ma'am please!" Elara shouted, "I can't cut an artery and you are bleeding out, please stop moving!" 

The woman probably didn't even hear her. Elara didn't know what to do, she had to get her calm or the woman had no chance of survival. 

And then Dennis arrived next to her. 

"What are-" Elara started but Dennis had grabbed the woman's hand and began calming her. Elara didn't know what to do for a moment before taking the opportunity to close the wind to the best of her abilities, then she stepped back. 

"Ready?" Dennis asked. Elara tilted her head at him. 

"For what?" She asked. 

"The next patient. I'm gonna keep them calm while you work on them." Dennis replied, beaming at the prospect of helping. Elara smiled and kissed his forehead. 

"Where's your mother?" Elara asked, referring to Ginny. 

"Helping move the bodies from around the school, notifying families. She said it was the least she could do and then told me to help you." Dennis replied. Moving to the next cot. That's when Theo coughed from behind them. Elara turned. 

"You're still here?" She asked. He smirked at her. 

"I'm learning." Theo responded. Elara turned to him. 

"The best way to learn is to do." Elara told him. "So if you want to learn, help." Elara said. 

Elara moved on to the next critical patient, which it seemed they all were. 

She healed his sectemsempra wounds and gave him a blood replenishment potion. 

The next was bone regrowth from the wall that had fallen on him. He had been next to Fred, in fact, from his account, Fred had pushed him out of the way. Elara thanked him and moved on.  

She unfroze a hufflepuff boy. Dennis held his hand and Elara did what she could. 

"Theo! You've been watching right?!" Elara asked him, a little frantic. 

"Yeah." He replied. 

"You remember how I clamped an artery on that woman at the beginning?" She asked. 

"Yes." 

"Do it. Now. I don't have enough hands." Elara ordered. Theodore's eyes widened and he looked at her. 

"Wait, I'm not trained-"

"Theo, I was never fucking trained. I learned from reading and doing." 

"Yeah but you read, practiced, El, I just watched you." 

"Theo, please. You've got this. If you don't do this there is no possibility of saving this kid." Theo sat still for a moment, holding his wand staring at the boy. Elara knew he needed a different push than she would. He didn't need reassurance, that's not how he had grown up. 

He needed an order 

"NOW!" She screamed. 

He moved forward and flicked his wand carefully, never taking his eyes off of the kid. 

The boy screamed. 

Theo looked as if he was about to throw up. Elara held her breath as she attempted to fix what ever was wrong with him but she couldn't even figure out where the bleeding was coming from She had clamped three arteries and had been looking at the organs she could see but she couldn't find it. There was nothing she could do. He was bleeding out. 

Elara closed her eyes slowly. 

The boy could hardly breathe, he was struggling to stay awake. 

"Do you have any family?" Dennis asked, trying to keep him calm. The boy shook his head. 

"Just- just Bella." He muttered. Dennis nodded his head. "Tell her- tell B-Bella Matthews that I- that I lov-" he started coughing up blood. Elara grabbed his other hand. 

"We'll let her know. I promise." Elara old him. He nodded his head, tears falling. Elara kissed the boys forehead. He smiled sadly up at the sky and then he went limp. Elara rested her forehead on the boys, mostly out of exhaustion and frustration. 

Theo was still holding on. 

"Theo. Let go." Dennis said, Elara finally looked up and looked at Nott, still holding the artery. 

"Theodore, he's gone. Let go." Elara continued. Theo looked up at her and then back down. 

"Oh. I- I'm sorry. I just didn't..." 

His sentence stopped there as he let go of the artery, almost hesitant to let go.   

"Theo, it's alright love. Are you okay?" Elara asked. 

"I think so. I just didn't expect him to die." Theo muttered. Elara looked at him apologetically. 

"Neither did we."   
________________________________

Dennis went to go sit with Draco. Dennis was exhausted, both of her boys were, and Elara knew they needed a break. So she sent him off. 

They had done all the healing they could, and after two hours of work there was nothing left to do but notify the families. 

The one family. 

She had been able to save them all. All but him. 

"Are you Bella?" Elara asked, approaching the girl who sat silently at a table with a mug of tea in her hands. The girl looked up at her in surprise and then, recognizing Elara, stood up quickly. 

"Yes. I am. Bella Matthews." The girl said, looking at her. "How's Liam?" 

Elara's heart sunk. Bella knew why Elara was there. 

"He's-" Elara paused, struggling to find words. "I'm so sorry. We did all we could." 

The girls face fell further than Elara thought possible. Then she was falling to the ground. Elara caught her but the mug slipped out of Bella's hands, falling to the ground and crashing. It broke almost clearly just as fast as Bella's heart did. 

Almost. 

Heads turned to face the two. Elara held her as they fell into the stairs, Elara throwing her arm back to catch the two. A piece of ceramic embedded itself in Elara's hand but that didn't matter now. All that mattered now was the girl screaming in her arms. 

Elara felt her pain. She understood it. 

"I'm sorry." Elara repeated. The world was at peace but everyone in it was at war with themselves. 

People were dead. 

Fred, Severus, Remus, Tonks, Narcissa, Pansy, Liam. 

They were all dead. 

Elara was the most dead of them all. 

And Bella cried.   
________________________________

Theo was sitting at the end of the cot, still looking at Liam when Elara came back to cover him, so Bella could take him away. Bury him. 

"Theo." Elara said. He looked up at her. 

"Was that Bella?" Theo asked, referring to the girl Elara had been holding not but ten minutes earlier. 

"Yeah. It was" 

"She tell you who this was?" Theo continued. Elara nodded her head. He flicked his wand and the sheet began to fall over the boy. "Who was he?" 

"His name was Liam. He was a sixth year." Elara said. Theo laughed, but it was clear there was no humor behind it, none at all. The tears in his eyes made that obvious. 

"He was only sixteen." Theo muttered after a moment. He looked at the white sheet, stained red with blood and then he looked down at his own hands. "Who was she to him?" 

Elara took a deep breath. 

"His girlfriend, the started dating in their first year." 

"So six years." Theo said. Elara closed her eyes. There was a moment of silence. 

"She's pregnant." She said suddenly. Elara hadn't meant to tell him that but it just kind of came out. Theo turned to look at her. "Three months, never even told him."

Theo looked down at the ground. 

"He knew." He said. Elara furrowed her brows. 

"How do you-" Elara was cut off by the ring. Theo had it held between two fingers and he brought it up to eye level. It was clearly an engagement ring. 

"He was going to propose, at the age of sixteen. He loved her, he knew." Theo said. Elara nodded her head. "I'm gonna tell her, give her the ring. I'm sure she knew he loved her but this, this will be a nice reminder." 

Elara stood up once more and kissed Theodore's forehead. 

"You're a good man Theodore Nott." Elara said. He smiled sadly. "Go home. Get some rest. I'll write you in a few days, just to check on you. Keep an eye on Daphne, you two will need each other more than ever." 

"We all will."   
________________________________

Elara walked over to Sirius, who was currently holding a sleeping Dennis on his lap. 

"He seems to have taken a liking to you." Elara said. Sirius smiled at her. 

"I've taken a liking to him is more like it. He's a good kid, seems even stronger than when I first met him." Sirius said. 

"Yes." Ginny said from behind them. She grabbed Elara's hand. "He is." 

Elara smiled at her fiancée. Ginny smiled back. 

"You okay love?" Elara asked. Ginny looked at her, and Elara could see the sadness behind. 

"I'm as okay as I can be right now. You're alive, Dennis is alive. Fred will be missed but there nothing to do now but morn." Ginny said. "Are you?" 

Elara paused for a moment 

"Today I'm not but I will be." She spoke honestly. Ginny nodded in understanding. 

"You girls ready to go home?" Sirius asked. Elara knew he was in pain but he was hiding it. Harry approached them, Draco in tow. 

"I am.  I need to sleep in my bed again, I hated the one at the manor." Elara said. 

"Any bed is good by me honestly." Harry said. Draco nodded his head in agreement. Elara looked at the gash in his forehead and the cut on Harry's arm and the bruise on Ginny's cheek. Sirius was staring at his hand, wincing in pain and knowing him, Elara knew he had broken or sprained it and never said anything. 

Elara could still feel the sectemsempra scars on her chest, and they felt heavy. 

The hurt and brokenness was clear in all of their eyes. They would all have nightmares, they would all have PTSD, they would all have bad days and worse nights and mind numbingly horrifying memories. 

But tonight they were alive, and that's all they could ever ask for.   
________________________________

Elara had carried Dennis to her bed and lied him down. She wiped the hair off of his forehead and then smiled at him. Ginny flicked the lights on and Elara faced her. 

"Hey you." Elara muttered. Ginny walked up to her and kissed her, slowly, passionately, the way that made Elara's head spin. They pulled away and rested their foreheads on the others. 

"Wanna go take a shower?" Ginny asked. Elara smiled at her. 

"Yes I do." Elara replied. Ginny smiled back and then took her hand. They walked to the bathroom. 

Elara turned on the shower and then stepped into the water. Ginny followed. 

Elara didn't realize how long she had gone without a real shower and not just a cleaning charm, until all of the dirt and blood began to fall into the drain. 

Ginny stepped into the shower and Elara moved so Ginny could get under the water. Elara began to wash her hair and then rinsed it. Ginny did the same. 

After a few more minutes of exhausted standing in the shower, Elara got out. Ginny stayed for another moment and then followed. 

Elara smiled at Ginny, the tired behind her eyes clear. 

They put on pajamas and walked back towards their room, only to hear a scream. Elara looked at Ginny for half a second before sprinting down the hallway. 

"DENNIS!" Elara shouted. Ginny followed behind. 

Elara burst through the door to see Dennis, sitting up in the bed crying. 

"MUMMY!" He screamed. Elara felt a wave of relief fall over her and the walked quickly to the bed. 

"Dennis, baby." Elara said. He turned to look at his moms. 

"Mummy." He spluttered through his tears. He latched onto Ginny, who had managed to get closer. Elara sat down next them. 

Ginny lied down with the small boy still in her arms and Elara laid on the other side, Dennis in between the two girls. Sirius, Draco, and Harry, had come after the scream and watched the two girls holding their son. 

Sirius smiled before closing the door. 

Dennis eventually calmed and fell asleep, the other two girls doing the same. 

They were at peace, they were alive. 

They were home.


	18. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You never got to know your grandson, and he'll never get to know you." Elara said instead, tears in her eyes. 
> 
> "You guys will tell him about me and I'll watch over him. All of you. I'll meet him eventually, one day far far away." He responded. She was quiet for a second. 
> 
> "I miss you." She said after a second. He smiled at her. 
> 
> "I'm proud of you." 
> 
> She already knew he missed her, that much would always be clear to her. She need to know that more, how proud of her he always was, how proud he always would be. She needed to never forget it. She smiled again. He kissed her on the forehead once more. 
> 
> Blink. 
> 
> And he was gone.

"You don't blame yourself, right?"

Elara's eyes shot open at that voice. She looked at Dennis sitting next to her and then she looked to the edge of the bed. She sat up. 

"I'm dreaming." She stated. Liam frowned. 

"I feel offended that you would even say that." He replied. She looked at him. 

"What the fuck is going on?" Elara asked. He smiled at her. 

"You are special. I mean, I think you always were, according to them, but it's clearer now. You can hear them now. Us, I mean. I am one of them" 

"What?" 

"I'm sorry, I just keep forgetting I'm dead. That I am one of them. Anyways, can you do me a favor?" He asked. Elara didn't respond, so he continued. "Tell Bella I'm proud of her. And I love her, more than I loved anything. And tell her I wish I would have been around to raise our baby but I know she will be a wonderful mother." 

"I- I" Elara closed her mouth and Liam furrowed his brows before his face fell back a little in realization 

"Oh, you still don't understand. It's okay. You will soon, she'll tell you." 

Elara blinked but when she opened her eyes again, Liam was gone.

"You don't blame yourself, right?"

"Yes. I do."  
________________________________

"REMUS!" Sirius screamed. Elara watched in horror as Remus' eyes glossed over and he began to fall to the ground. Sirius ran over to him but it was already to late. 

Remus Lupin didn't even have a chance to say goodbye before he became just a dream. 

Sirius was sobbing, rocking him back and forth as he cried out his name. There was death going on all around them, someone could kill him any moment but that didn't matter anymore. None of it mattered. 

"Dad!" Elara screamed. But he didn't turn. He didn't even hear her. 

And then Elara felt herself shifting and when she looked around she was back in the sitting room of her home, on the floor by the couch. She was sitting next to the fire, just like she had been before she had fallen asleep.

"Tell him I love him. I've never loved a thing more than that man." 

Elara couldn't tell when the voice was coming from but she knew who's it was. 

"Well other than you kids. Tell Draco and Harry too. Ginny as well. You four were all I could ever need. I'm so sorry I won't be there." 

"Remus." She muttered. He appeared next to her and sat down. She turned her head and he smiled apologetically. 

"You don't know what's happening yet do you?" He asked. 

"No. I don't. Please, tell me what's going on." She said. Remus pulled her into his side and kissed her forehead she smiled through the stray tears. He pulled away from her and stood up. She followed 

"I can't tell you but she will. Soon enough. It will make sense soon, I promise." He said to her. She would have argued if she hadn't known he was going to leave. 

"You never got to know your grandson, and he'll never get to know you." Elara said instead, tears in her eyes. 

"You guys will tell him about me and I'll watch over him. All of you. I'll meet him eventually, one day far far away." He responded. She was quiet for a second. 

"I miss you." She said after a second. He smiled at her. 

"I'm proud of you." 

She already knew he missed her, that much would always be clear to her. She need to know that more, how proud of her he always was, how proud he always would be. She needed to never forget it. She smiled again. He kissed her on the forehead once more. 

Blink. 

And he was gone.  
________________________________

Sirius had bought a bookstore. He decided he wanted a career, even if he didn't need the money. 

He worked in it everyday, taking everyone with him so they could help set up for the opening on August 30th. Elara loved it. It was a quaint little store in hogsmede with an apartment ontop. There was only two rooms but it was enough for him when he was staying on his own. 

It was almost fall, the summer air was becoming crisp and Elara was already deciding all of the family things they could do this year, now that they weren't in hiding or undercover. They could pick apples, and cut their own Christmas tree, and they could all stay up late and drink hot chocolate. She couldn't help but grin as she watched her family, the people she could finally do all of this with freely. 

Dennis swung his legs in the air, Elara watching closely. Ginny was pushing him on the swing. Sirius, who had taken the morning off, was a swinging next to him. Harry was dodging him, weaving in and out of them going back and forth. Elara took a sip of her tea in a disposable cup. 

Draco made his way next to his sister on the bench. 

"Hey you." He muttered. Elara smiled at him. 

"Hey." She responded. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into him. 

"What are you thinking about?" He asked. Elara looked at him. 

"How much I love all of you. Thinking about how much I miss Remus and how he won't be able to spend the fall with us or Christmas or our birthdays, or even his." Elara said. Draco nodded his head and there was a moment of silence before Elara spoke up. "What about you?" She raised her eyebrows waiting for an answer and took another sip of her tea. 

"I saw something this morning." He said. Elara furrowed her brows. 

"Like what?" 

"Lucius' trial is next week. The prophet promised to cover the whole story. Apparently they are looking for us to do interviews with." 

"The prophet can fuck off." Elara muttered. Draco chuckled lightly, stealing the tea out of Elara's hand and taking a sip before handing it back to her. 

"True, however, its highly likely that Lucius will be given the kiss for his crimes. No matter what he did after Mum died." Draco said. 

Elara never thought those words would sting as much as they really did 

"He saved my life." Elara muttered. It wasn't to defend him, it was mostly just a fact that she said because she couldn't think of anything to say instead. 

"Really?" Draco said. Elara looked over at the people at the swings. Sirius was now pushing Harry. Dennis was attempting to push Ginny. 

"Yeah. Voldemort called him to get me, bring me to him. He was going to kill me to get control the wand. Father told me to run." Elara continued. 

"And then he tried to kill you." 

"No, Bella tried to kill me. Father was just the puppet under the imperius." Elara muttered. She went to take another sip when she realized it was empty, and Draco had been the one who emptied 

"What?" Draco said, and he actually seemed surprised. Elara looked back towards him. 

"I saw it the minute he stepped in front of me. His eyes were glossy but he was fighting it. He looked like he was in so much pain. After he said the curse he snapped out of it. I mean he had been fighting before but he wasn't able to stop it. I don't blame him." Elara told him. 

"Do you want to go to the trial?" Draco asked after a moment. Elara looked at him. 

"I don't know. I feel like we should." Elara said. Draco looked at her. 

"If we go, are you gonna try to save him?" Draco asked. 

"No, there's no way they're going to let him go and if I save him then he will spend the rest of his life in Askaban, with no way out. That is a fate much worse than death." Elara said. Draco nodded his head in agreement. 

"But you want to go?" 

"I owe him that much, for saving my life." Elara told him. 

"That's fair." He said. Elara looked at him. 

"You drank all my tea." She muttered in disapproval after a moment. 

It was in this second that Dennis had begun chasing the three adults who had been on the swings with him. Elara chuckled, watching him for a split second before Draco stared standing up. Elara looked at him in confusion. 

"What are you doing?"" Elara asked. Draco said nothing. He took the empty cup out of her hand and threw it out in the trash. Her brows were furrowed and she had a confused grin on her face. "Draco?" 

"Tag!" Dennis yelled from behind her, taping her shoulder. Elara looked back and then looked at Draco who was laughing lightly. 

"You knew he was gonna do that." Elara said. Draco nodded his head and Elara glared. 

"You son of a bitch." She said. There was another moment of them sitting still before Elara shot up like a bullet and ran after him. 

And that was their Sunday morning.  
________________________________

The kitchen was empty, which was surprising to Elara. She walked over to the stove a put a kettle on and then she put on music through the record player Sirius had bought. According to him, Remus had loved the idea of a muggle record player. She loved listening to upbeat music nonetheless, even if she could hardly figure out how it worked. 

Elara smiled as the music played behind her. She heard the kettle begin to screech and she made her way over to grab it off the stove. 

She poured the water over the leaves and then she poured milk in afterwards. Last, four spoonfuls of sugar. It may have been to much for some people but for her it was just enough. 

She turned her body around after cleaning and leaned against the counter. 

She looked into her mug and sipped, almost forgetting where she was. She hadn't even heard Ginny come in until she spoke. 

"Elara?" Ginny asked. Elara looked up from her tea mug and smiled at her fiancée. 

"Yeah?" She asked. 

"Are you okay?" She asked. Elara nodded her head. Ginny smiled at back at Elara and kissed her forehead. Elara set her mug down on the counter and then she wrapped her arms around Ginny. Ginny smiled and wrapped her arms around Elara's neck in response.

"Where's Dennis?" Elara asked. 

"Sirius told me he and the boys were going out, get ice cream, talk. He invited Dennis. You weren't there so I said yes. Figured you wouldn't mind." Ginny's replied. Elara smiled. 

"Of course not. You, as his mother, are perfectly capable of giving him permission to go places." 

There was moment of no talking, only sound to be heard was the music in the background. 

And then Elara felt lightheaded, not for any reason other than the fact that Ginny's lips always made her feel that way and currently Ginny's lips were on hers.

Her head went fuzzy and for the first time since her seventh year started she felt blank in the best god damn way possible. 

Ginny pushed Elara back onto the dining room table. 

Elara laughed and she stared up at Ginny. 

"You're so beautiful." Ginny said and Elara was. Maybe not in her own eyes but she was beautiful. 

"Not as much as you." Elara replied. Before Ginny could reply, Elara pulled her down so they were kissing. 

By the time the boys appeared in the doorway, Elara was about to loose her shirt. While Harry covered Dennis' eyes, Draco was almost wide eyed, and about to laugh his ass off. And then there was Sirius, smirking. 

Sirius cleared his throat. Ginny stopped pulling at Elara's shirt slowly and they both looked towards the four. 

"The table girls? Really? We eat there." Sirius said. Elara smirked. 

"We eat at the other end." She joked back. Sirius smiled. 

"Can you put your shirt all the way back on so I can uncover your sons eyes?" Harry requested. Elara rolled her eyes and Ginny got off of her. Elara rolled off of the table, effectively pulling her shirt down. Harry took a sigh of relief and then uncovered the boys eyes. 

Dennis smiled at them. He knew what had just been going on, he was 11 not 3 but he didn't really care. His moms loved each other. 

"Hey baby, how was getting ice cream?" Elara asked, taking a sip of her tea. She cringed at how cold it was, poured it out, and put another kettle on. 

"It was awesome! Grandpa let me get three scoops." He said excitedly. Elara's heart swelled and she looked at Sirius who's smiled grew wider. 

"Really? What flavors did you get?" Ginny asked, walking over to him. Elara turned to pull six tea cups out of the cabinet, her smile almost hurting her face. 

"Cookies and Cream, cookie dough, and rocky road." He said. 

Elara turned back to the group, the mugs Magically flying onto the table, played under them, in front of six different seats. Sirius smiled and sat down at the end of the table, Dennis sat next to him. Harry sat down and Draco followed to sit next to him. Ginny sat across from Harry. The milk flew out of the fridge and landed gracefully on the table, the sugar following. Elara picked the tea kettle up and walked towards the table, the tea flying behind her. 

"Show off." Sirius muttered. The group at the table laughed and Elara stuck her tongue out to him, to which he stuck his tongue out in response. 

"I can't believe you did that all without your wand." Harry muttered as Elara sat down in between Dennis and Ginny, across from Draco. She smiled at him and then her tea bag flew into her teacup and the water began pouring itself. Then the milk, and after that four spoonfuls of sugar. 

"That's a lot of sugar for someone so small." Draco said. Elara looked at him, glaring. 

"That's a lot of mouth for someone so stupid" Elara bit back, mocking her brother in tone. Draco looked straight faced for a moment before smiling. Elara chuckled. 

"Do you two have to always talk like that?" Dennis asked. Elara leaned over and kissed his forehead. 

"Yes. We do." Elara told him. 

"No you don't." Sirius muttered. Elara looked at him and lifted the kettle, poring water on top of the tea. 

"Drink your tea." She said. Sirius smiled. 

"You two used to be worse. I remember when Draco stole your racing broom and you broke his leg in return." 

Elara dropped the tea kettle hard on the table at the sound of those words. She looked up slowly. 

She made eye contact with the source of the voice. 

"Mum." 

And her mothers smile all alone was enough to force her sprinting out of the room. 

The others called after her but she couldn't even hear if from how loud her heart was beating. 

She sprinted out of the front door and turned to look at her home. 

This had to be fake. She had to dreaming it. 

"Elara!" Ginny screamed, following after her but that didn't matter because standing in the steps was Elara's mother. 

And Elara was so far gone and burning from the heat of how close to the sun she was flying. 

Because her mother was here and that meant she couldn't be. 

Because Elara Black was dead.


	19. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Elara." 
> 
> Elara looked up towards her mother and frowned, then closed her book and set it down on the grass next to her. 
> 
> "Finally. I've been waiting days for you." Elara said. Narcissa nodded solemnly. 
> 
> "I thought you'd need a little while to adjust and calm down." 
> 
> "Im perfectly calm now. What I need is an explanation." Elara replied. 
> 
> "What would you like to know?" Her mother asked. 
> 
> "Everything would be good."

Elara had passed out, right there in the middle of the road, and had woken up to everyone staring at her. She had only been out a minute but the fact that her mother was still standing over her, it made it feel like she was still out, like she would be out permanently. 

This time however, Elara decided to pretend she didn't see her mother so the people standing around her wouldn't become afraid she was crazy. 

"I'm not dead right?" Elara asked. She knew the ones who were alive would think that was directed towards her but her and Narcissa both knew who she was really talking to. 

Elara faintly heard Sirius answer the question but she hadn't really been paying attention. 

"No. Of course not." Narcissa told her. Elara nodded her head and then felt herself being lifted by her godfather. "You and I will talk later." 

Elara nodded her head but didn't say a response.

"Come on love, let's get you inside." Sirius muttered. Elara didn't want to go inside, Elara didn't want to go anywhere but she nodded her head nevertheless and Sirius helped her stand.

She walked slowly into the sitting room and sat down. Dennis sat down next to her and curled into her side. She pulled him inwards towards and squeezed him tighter. She smiled at him as he said nothing.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked, walking into the room, a cup of tea in her hands. She attempted to hand it to her fiancée but Elara shook her head and smiled. 

"I'm fine love. No worries. I just had a moment." Elara said. Dennis smiled at this answer and curled further into his mother. 

"That is allowed, considering it's the first one since the war. I had expected someone to have a moment sooner than this, but I guess when you live with people as resilient as we are, it takes a while for the hell of war to sink in." Ginny said. She sat down on the other side of Elara, where Dennis hadn't been siting, and lied her head on Elara's shoulder Elara smiled.

This was her family, right here, and it was the best family in the world.  
________________________________

"Elara." 

Elara looked up towards her mother and frowned, then closed her book and set it down on the grass next to her. 

"Finally. I've been waiting days for you." Elara said. Narcissa nodded solemnly. 

"I thought you'd need a little while to adjust and calm down." 

"Im perfectly calm now. What I need is an explanation." Elara replied. 

"What would you like to know?" Her mother asked. 

"Everything would be good." Elara replied. Narcissa nodded her head once more and then sat down. She stroked Elara's forehead and to Elara's surprise, she felt it. She had realized that should have been obvious later, when she could feel Remus, but it was shocking in the moment. 

"You're special, although I hope you already knew that. But, you're gifted in ways no one else can understand." Narcissa began. Elara raised her eyebrows and Her mother smiled. "You can see us, and feel us because you have the gift to. Before you died, you hadn't reached your full potential. I had tried to speak to you, warn you of danger, tried to keep you safe, but it only seemed to hurt you." 

"You were the screeching I heard all the time." Elara realized. Narcissa nodded. 

"I was trying to help. I just didn't know how."

"Yeah. That's fair." Elara said. 

"Do you actually believe that or are you just trying to believe that?" Narcissa asked. Elara should have known her mother would see right through her, she had always been able to do that. She looked down at the ground, not answering the question. Narcissa smiled in understanding. "I see you have a son." 

The statement was out of the blue but Narcissa knew it would make a Elara smile. 

"Dennis." Elara told her, though she was sure her mother already knew. 

"How old is he?" 

"11 but his birthday is May 31st so he'll be 12 next week." Elara replied, looking up.

"And your fiancée?" 

"Ginny. She's 17." 

"Do you love them?" Narcissa asked. Elara smiled. 

"More than anything in the world. They are my whole life, Draco and Harry too." 

"What about Sirius?" 

"He's the best dad anyone can ask for. Got me through your death and Voldemort being after me. Got me through being a spy. They all did. I wouldn't have been able to do it without any of em', father included." Elara told her. Narcissa grabbed Elara's hand and Elara looked down before squeezing it back. 

"Are you going to the trial?" Narcissa asked. Elara wondered if she already knew all of the answers to these questions but even if she did, what did that matter? She was asking now and Elara wanted to answer. 

"Yes. I'm gonna support him but I won't fight the outcome. He's tired, he wants to be with you again. Who am I to fight him bing back with who he loves?" 

"You're very brave." Narcissa said after a moment. 

"Maybe." Elara replied, smiling. Narcissa stood up and watched Elara's smile fall. 

"Where are you going?" She asked, standing up. 

"Your son is running down the stairs to find you, so it's my time to go. Don't worry, I'll be back." Narcissa assured. Elara took a deep breath and nodded before hugging her mother. 

Narcissa hugged her back until the backdoor swung open. They dropped away, and clearly Dennis didn't notice. 

"Mum! Come look at what Grampa showed me!" He yelled. Elara smiled. 

"What did he show you?" Elara asked. 

"No, you have to see it to believe it." Dennis replied. 

Narcissa watched Dennis drag Elara off and into the house. 

Then she disappeared.  
________________________________

It was beautiful. There were shelves upon shelves upon shelves of books. It reminded Elara of Olivanders, the dark, shockingly breathtaking look of cluttered shelves.

And then the apartment upstairs. 

It was bright, all of the walls were white, and light colored furniture decorated the rooms. The few pops of dark where in accents and paintings. It was everything Elara dreamed of. 

"It's yours." Elara heard. She turned to face her father. 

"Hm?" She asked. Sirius smiled at her. 

"The apartment, the store. It's yours." He told her. Elara's brows furrowed. 

"Dad, you bought this for you." 

"I bought it to redo and make it better. I had every intention on selling it after fixing it but I can see the love you have for it. You can hire someone to work downstairs, and I'd love to help out. Dennis, Ginny, and you need a place for you. This is it. It's in hogsmede so you can see Dennis once his second year starts and Ginny too."

"What if I wanted to go to Hogwarts?" Elara asked in awe. 

"Then I would keep it clean and orderly until you were done." Sirius responded. Elara smiled and jumped forwards, hugging him. 

"Thank you." She said. Sirius pulled back and looked at her. 

"Of course."   
________________________________

It was July 22, more than two months after Lucius had been caught on the Astronomy tower the day the war ended, and it looked like he hadn't eaten or slept since then. Draco held onto Elara's hand as their father was raised into the cage. Harry and Ginny were next to their respective partners, Sirius next to Harry and Dennis on Ginny's lap. 

"Lucius Malfoy, you have been charged with 6 counts of murder, including the torture and murder of your wife, Narcissa Malfoy-" 

"No! I didn't do that! I never helped those bastards!" Lucius shouted. 

"If you want this trial to continue then you will shut up, and if not I will sentence you to life in Azkaban right now." The man said. Elara didn't know him but she didn't like him and his shitty lying ass. Lucius closed his mouth and nodded his head.  

"He can't do that." Elara whispered harshly. Draco squeezed her hand and she frowned. 

"Thank you. You are also charged with the attempted murder of your daughter, Elara M-" 

"That wasn't me! I was under the imperius, it wasn't my fault!" Lucius screamed. How could they accuse him of hurting his family? 

"You were warned Malfoy, a warning you ignored, therefore I sentence you to life-" 

"No you don't!" Elara interrupted standing up. Draco attempted to pull her down but she shook him off. 

"Elara." Remus said from next to her she looked at him for a moment. "You've got this."

"Ms. Malfoy, sit down." 

"No. I call as a witness for the defense." Elara replied 

"You can't do that" he told her. She raised her eyebrows. 

"I can actually, because one of those charges pertains to me, so I have the right to be on the floor as a witness, in any capacity I please." Elara replied, walking down the benches and hopping onto the floor. The judge frowned. 

"Are you attempting to get this man off for his crimes?" He asked. Elara looked back at her dad and smiled apologetically. He gave her a small smile and nod in response. 

"No. I'm requesting he be sentenced to death." She replied, still looking at him. He had a few tear marks on his face but he was still giving her the small smile. She felt a tear on her cheek, and wiped away as she turned back to the judge. 

"Excuse me?" He asked. 

"This mans crimes are worthy of having him put to death. He should be given it." She replied. 

"You're suggesting we kill your own father?" He asked. She looked back to Lucius, and he nodded his head once more. 

"Yes, is their any reason you shouldn't. One count of murder can result in death, so I feel six should ensure it." 

She looked back to the front and held her head up high. 

"Malfoy, do you agree with this suggestion?" The judge asked. 

"Yes. I do." Lucius answered. The judge nodded. 

"Very well, Lucius Malfoy, you have been sentenced to death and you will be given this kiss at 2 pm today." 

Elara closed her eyes. It all happened so fast, and now he was going to die within the hour.

And now she was going to have to watch her fathers death.   
________________________________

She sat in the tower, alone, and watched through the room window as her dad sat calmly on the bed, strapped down. No one else could bear to watch, it was rumored to drive some insane, but Elara wanted to be there. 

She had to be there. For him. 

"I said you were brave. No one else could be here for him." Narcissa said. Elara continued to look through the window at him. The dementors were set to come in at exactly 2pm, which was only 120 seconds away. 

"I don't feel brave." Elara replied. Narcissa sat down on one side of her. 

"This is one of the reasons I'm so proud of you, you do what you think is right, even when it's hard. He needed to know someone was here, so you decided you'd be here." Remus said, sitting on the other side. He grabbed her hand and Narcissa grabbed the other. 

"I'm scared." She said finally. "I don't know how I'm supposed to watch this all alone." 

60 seconds 

"You aren't alone. We're here with you" Narcissa assured her. Elara nodded her head and Narcissa leaned over and kissed her daughters forehead. 

50 seconds. 

Remus squeezed her hand and she squeezed back, looking at him. 

40 seconds. 

Lucius looked up the sky and for the first time, he was fully ready to die. 

30 seconds. 

Elara let a small sob escape her lips and Lucius heard it loud and clear. 

20 seconds. 

The second seems to slow as they ticked, and the room began to get smaller. 

10 seconds. 

This was it. The last few seconds of Lucius' life. 

5 seconds. 

4 seconds. 

3 seconds. 

2 seconds. 

1 second. 

Elara looked through as the lock became undone. 

There were three of them, and they flew in as dark as ever. Elara held her breath. 

It was unbearable to watch. 

And then it was done. It went by so fast that Lucius' screams of pain were merely breaths in the wind and his whole life a blink in existence.  

And then there was a hand on her shoulder. Elara stood and turned, before grabbing her father into a hug. He held her tighter. 

"Dad." She muttered. 

"Elara." He replied. She pulled away and looked at him. "I love you. Tell Draco I love him too." 

"I will. I promise." She replied. He smiled at her and pushed a piece of hair out of her face. 

"Lucius." Narcissa said. Lucius turned towards the voice and saw her standing there. She moved towards him and Elara knew that was her cue to leave. She stepped out of the room and appreated into the living room, where Ginny sat, waiting. 

She stood from the couch and looked at her fiancées face, before pulling her into a hug and Elara lost it. 

The tears didn't stop, it was over. She felt tired and heartbroken, and watching the kiss had drained her of most of the faith in humanity. 

The damage would take years to undo, but that's war. 

It's all war.


	20. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were six things that stuck out in Elara mind as it was happening. 
> 
> One. 
> 
> It was too soon, this couldn't be happening so soon. 
> 
> Two. 
> 
> Her hair covered the blood on her face, but it didn't cover the blood anywhere else. It didn't blend anywhere else. 
> 
> Three. 
> 
> Elara's own breathing stopped as she stood in shock, watching someone's breath she loves slow.   
> 
> Four. 
> 
> Someone shouted call 999, they told them to tell the operator a young girl had been hit by a car and to hurry. That was the moment Elara felt herself be pulled forward by her mother and the ringing in her ears stoped. 
> 
> Five. 
> 
> Hearing Dennis sob felt like knives in Elara's chest and the sound of him screaming felt like swords. 
> 
> Six.
> 
> Ginny was dying and Elara had to do something about it.

Elara walked downstairs and pulled a book on PTSD from the shelve before walking to the reading nook. She sat in the chair and set her tea down on the table before looking at the book. 

How does Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Change the Brain?  By Viatcheslav Wlassoff, PhD

She struggled to open it. She looked at the front cover for three full minutes, holding the book. 

Magical medical science didn't have any research on this, so everyone in the war didn't even think to diagnose the problems everyone has as PTSD. 

Elara knew she needed to read this, she needed to help. This was how she did it. 

She read and she treated. It was her whole world. 

So she opened the book 

"Child abuse. Rape. Sexual assault. Brutal physical attack. Being in a war and witnessing violence, bloodshed, and death from close quarters. Near death experiences. These are extremely traumatic events, and some victims bear the scars for life.

The physical scars heal, but some emotional wounds stop the lives of these people dead in their tracks. They are afraid to get close to people or form new relationships. Change terrifies them, and they remain forever hesitant to express their needs or give vent to their creative potential. It may not be always apparent, but post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) stifles the life force out of its victims. It is no use telling them to "get over" it because PTSD fundamentally changes the brain's structure and alters its functionalities.  
What goes on inside the brains of people with PTSD?"

She stopped and looked up. That couldn't be true. She wasn't afraid of change. 

Was she? 

"PTSD is painful and frightening. The memories of the event linger and victims often have vivid flashbacks. Frightened and traumatized, they are almost always on edge and the slightest of cues sends them hurtling back inside their protective shells. Usually victims try to avoid people, objects, and situations that remind them of their hurtful experiences; this behavior is debilitating and prevents them from living their lives meaningfully.

Many victims forget the details of the incident, obviously in an attempt to lessen the blow. But this coping mechanism has negative repercussions as well. Without accepting and reconciling with "reality," they turn into fragmented souls"

She knew that wasn't her symptoms, but if this was a possibility then who the hell did feel this way? Was it someone she knew, someone she cared about? 

"Extensive neuroimaging studies on the brains of PTSD patients show that several regions differ structurally and functionally from those of healthy individuals. The amygdala, the hippocampus, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex play a role in triggering the typical symptoms of PTSD. These regions collectively impact the stress response mechanism in humans, so the PTSD victim, even long after his experiences, continues to perceive and respond to stress differently than someone who is not suffering the aftermaths of trauma."

This was what she needed. Science. Facts. 

"Effect of trauma on the hippocampus

The most significant neurological impact of trauma is seen in the hippocampus. PTSD patients show a considerable reduction in the volume of the hippocampus. This region of the brain is responsible for memory functions. It helps an individual to record new memories and retrieve them later in response to specific and relevant environmental stimuli. The hippocampus also helps us distinguish between past and present memories.  
PTSD patients with reduced hippocampal volumes lose the ability to discriminate between past and present experiences or interpret environmental contexts correctly. Their particular neural mechanisms trigger extreme stress responses when confronted with environmental situations that only remotely resemble something from their traumatic past. This is why a sexual assault victim is terrified of parking lots because she was once raped in a similar place. A war veteran still cannot watch violent movies because they remind him of his trench days; his hippocampus cannot minimize the interference of past memories."

She heard a loud noise against the window. It was raining. 

Of course it was raining. 

"Effect of trauma on the ventromedial prefrontal cortex

Severe emotional trauma causes lasting changes in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex region of the brain that is responsible for regulating emotional responses triggered by the amygdala. Specifically, this region regulates negative emotions like fear that occur when confronted with specific stimuli. PTSD patients show a marked decrease in the volume of ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the functional ability of this region. This explains why people suffering from PTSD tend to exhibit fear, anxiety, and extreme stress responses even when faced with stimuli not connected – or only remotely connected – to their experiences from the past."

Her brain was telling her not to read any further. She didn't need to know anymore, she didn't want to know anymore but somehow her head looked back down. 

"Effect of trauma on the amygdala

Trauma appears to increase activity in the amygdala. This region of the brain helps us process emotions and is also linked to fear responses. PTSD patients exhibit hyperactivity in the amygdala in response to stimuli that are somehow connected to their traumatic experiences. They exhibit anxiety, panic, and extreme stress when they are shown photographs or presented with narratives of trauma victims whose experiences match theirs; or made to listen to sounds or words related to their traumatic encounters.  
What is interesting is that the amygdala in PTSD patients may be so hyperactive that these people exhibit fear and stress responses even when they are confronted with stimuli not associated with their trauma, such as when they are simply shown photographs of people exhibiting fear.

The hippocampus, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and the amygdala complete the neural circuitry of stress. The hippocampus facilitates appropriate responses to environmental stimuli, so the amygdala does not go into stress mode. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex regulates emotional responses by controlling the functions of the amygdala. It is thus not surprising that when the hypoactive hippocampus and the functionally-challenged ventromedial prefrontal cortex stop pulling the chains, the amygdala gets into a tizzy.  
Hyperactivity of the amygdala is positively related to the severity of PTSD symptoms. The aforementioned developments explain the tell-tale signs of PTSD—startle responses to the most harmless of stimuli and frequent flashbacks or intrusive recollections.

Researchers believe that the brain changes caused by PTSD increase the likelihood of a person developing other psychotic and mood disorders. Understanding how PTSD alters brain chemistry is critical to empathize with the condition of the victims and devise treatment methods that will enable them to live fully and fulfill their true potential.  
But in the midst of such grim findings, scientists also sound a note of hope for PTSD patients and their loved ones. According to them, by delving into the pathophysiology of PTSD, they have also realized that the disorder is reversible. The human brain can be re-wired. In fact, drugs and behavioral therapies have been shown to increase the volume of the hippocampus in PTSD patients. The brain is a finely-tuned instrument. It is fragile, but it is heartening to know that the brain also has an amazing capacity to regenerate."

And that's when she looked up for the last time, shutting the book. She smiled lightly. 

Everyone could be okay again. It would take me time an help, but that would be okay. 

And that would make her smile any day.  
_______________________________

There were six things that stuck out in Elara mind as it was happening. 

One. 

It was too soon, this couldn't be happening so soon. 

Two. 

Her hair covered the blood on her face, but it didn't cover the blood anywhere else. It didn't blend anywhere else. 

Three. 

Elara's own breathing stopped as she stood in shock, watching someone's breath she loves slow.   

Four. 

Someone shouted call 999, they told them to tell the operator a young girl had been hit by a car and to hurry. That was the moment Elara felt herself be pulled forward by her mother and the ringing in her ears stoped. 

Five. 

Hearing Dennis sob felt like knives in Elara's chest and the sound of him screaming felt like swords. 

Six.

Ginny was dying and Elara had to do something about it. 

Elara lifted her fiancée, despite protests of bystanders and pulled Dennis as fast as she could to a nearby alley, appearating away before anyone could see where they had gone. 

She landed in st. Mungos and shouted. 

"Help me! It's my fiancée! Help."  

But no one came. They kept shuffling around them. 

"Please help!" She continued but still the same result. 

That's when the seventh thing became clear, just as she was shaken awake. 

It was all a dream.  
______________________________

Elara's PTSD symptoms became more clear to her as the week went on, and she had wished she'd never read the book. 

Since her nightmare about Ginny, Elara had opted not to sleep.

She spent a lot of her time in the book shop downstairs, because it wasn't open yet being that it was summer, and no one was in Hogsmeade during the summer months. 

Summer, however, was coming to a close and Elara was quickly realizing that she was going to have to decide what she was going to do for this year. 

Just as she sat at the dining room table, a cup of tea in her hands, thinking about her future, a knock came from the window. Elara raised her head from where she had been drifting to sleep from pure exhaustion and saw and owl on her window sill. She didn't recognize it but she smiled nonetheless. 

Grabbing a treat from the jar next to the window, the opened the window and traded the treat for the three letters before shutting the window once again. 

She returned back to the table and looked down at the letters. She looked at the steady writing and she recognized it. 

"What's that?" She heard from behind her. Elara turned in her chair to look at her fiancée. 

"Hogwarts letters." Elara replied simply. Ginny nodded her head and moved towards the cabinet with the mugs in it. 

"Hogwarts letters are here?" 

Dennis popped his head in the room, the look of excitement barley containable within his demeanor. Elara chuckled, and Ginny grabbed another mug. 

"Yes, they are. Would you like to read yours?" Elara asked him. Dennis nodded his head and moved towards Elara. She handed it to him and he opened it excitedly. Ginny set a mug in front of him and poured some of the tea in it, before pouring some in her own and sitting down next to her fiancée. Elara leaned over and kissed her, just because she could. 

"Can we go today?" Dennis asked. Elara looked over at him. She wanted so desperately to say yes but she didn't even know if she was going back yet. She looked over a Ginny who shrugged her shoulders and took a sip of her tea. The look on Dennis' face was priceless and the excitement practically radiated off of him. It was quiet for another moment before Elara finally spoke. 

"Yes." 

Dennis' smile got brighter, if that was even possible. 

"Go shower and get dressed. We can get breakfast there." Ginny told him. He started off. 

"Dennis." Elara said. He turned. "Take your tea." 

Dennis continued to smile and he ran over to Elara, hugging her before doing the same to Ginny. Then he grabbed his tea and disappeared. Ginny turned to her fiancée. 

"What's the plan?" She asked. Elara raised her eyebrows. 

"Hmm?" She asked, taking the last sip of her tea and watching it fly to the sink.  

"As of yesterday you had no idea if you were even going or not. What's your thought?" 

"What do you want me to do?" Elara asked. Ginny smiled at her and grabbed her hand. 

"Elara, I want you to do whatever you want to do. If you don't come, you'll be here so I'll see you every weekend. You're smart enough to where you don't have to come but you also love to learn. It all depends on what you want to do. Do you want to spend another year in the school you helped to make better, or do you want to spend a year here, or you can do something else? You mentioned maybe wanting to be a healer, and the healers program sent a letter telling you they wanted you. You can do absolutely anything you want." 

"I don't know Gin." Elara said. Ginny moved hair out of Elara's face. 

"Well that's okay. Here's the question, do you want to go back?" 

"Yes but I don't know if I'm ready to face everyone there." Elara admitted. 

"Elara, you've saved people's lives. Everyone there loves you. Why are you afraid to face them?" Ginny asked. 

"Because they may love me but I don't." Elara told her. Ginny's smiled faded slightly and turned more apologetic. 

"Elara, we went through hell and back. No one expected you to just be okay and love yourself. You and I did things that most people in the war didn't have to do. No one blames us for what happened but that doesn't mean we don't blame ourselves. That doesn't mean we should punish ourselves. If you want to go back then you should. And I will be there, next to you, through it all." Ginny told her, wiping away a tear on her cheek before kissing her forehead. Elara nodded her head. 

"Okay." 

"Okay?" 

"I want to go back." Elara said. Ginny smiled brightly. 

"Okay." Ginny had said she didn't care but Elara could tell she wanted her to go. She was too good of a woman to try and make her go but Elara could tell. "Go get dressed, I'm sure Dennis is already ready considering how fast he ran." Ginny joked. Elara chuckled. 

"He was ready before he even knew we were going." Elara joked back. 

"Hurry up!" Dennis shouted. Elara looked at her fiancée and laughed again. 

"Yeah Ginny. Hurry up." Elara teased, before pinching Ginny's sides. Ginny jumped and then glared, before reaching to do the same but Elara jerked away. Ginny reached again, but Elara dodged once again. 

"Elara" Ginny warned. Elara raised her eyebrows suggestively. 

"Catch me." 

Elara sprinted towards the bedroom and Ginny followed. Dennis shook his head as they ran past. 

"That's not hurrying!" 

They left ten minutes later, Elara's hair changed from brown to red, her eyes in a glare, and Ginny's snicker still present on her face.


	21. 8th year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People had wanted to be friends with Harry before the war but now that it was over, and Voldemort was dead, Elara knew the crazies would come out. The people who wanted to be friends with Harry and the people who wanted to steal Harry from Draco.
> 
> Elara stood on the platform waiting for Harry and Draco, who were coming with Sirius. The two of them had discussed moving out but decided it would be pointless to move out for three months and pay rent only to have to leave it behind so soon. Besides, Sirius needed someone at home during that time. Those nights that he needed people to drink and forget with, the boys were there.
> 
> But now Sirius was going to stay at the bookshop and he said he was ready to be alone. He was okay, and he could do it. 
> 
> Elara almost told him he was never alone, Remus was always with him, but she didn't.

The train ride was more nostalgic than Elara originally assumed it would be. Elara had said they could just walk to the school but Dennis wanted to ride the train, see his friends, and Ginny had told Elara that it was her last year to ride the train, so she should take the opportunity. 

Elara didn't want to wake up and go get on the train mostly because she was sure people might try to sit with her and Ginny, because her and Ginny would sit with Harry and Draco. 

You know, the chosen one and the love of his life. 

People had wanted to be friends with Harry before the war but now that it was over, and Voldemort was dead, Elara knew the crazies would come out. The people who wanted to be friends with Harry and the people who wanted to steal Harry from Draco.

Elara stood on the platform waiting for Harry and Draco, who were coming with Sirius. The two of them had discussed moving out but decided it would be pointless to move out for three months and pay rent only to have to leave it behind so soon. Besides, Sirius needed someone at home during that time. Those nights that he needed people to drink and forget with, the boys were there.

But now Sirius was going to stay at the bookshop and he said he was ready to be alone. He was okay, and he could do it. 

Elara almost told him he was never alone, Remus was always with him, but she didn't.

The three boys walked through the wall and smiled as they spotted Ginny and Elara. They walked towards the pair. 

"Where's Dennis?" Sirius asked. 

"He ran onto the train to find his friends the minute we got here." Elara replied, pulling Sirius in for a hug. Ginny followed.

"How am I supposed to say goodbye to him if he's gone?" Sirius asked, raising his eyebrows expectantly. 

"You live in Hogsmede, you'll see him in a few days." Elara responded. 

"The point stands, nevertheless." Sirius grumbled. Elara chuckled. 

"Alright dad. Sounds good." Elara told him. His frown grew larger. Elara kissed her fathers forehead. "Love you. See you in a few days." 

"Love you." 

He had said this in a particularly annoyed fashion but Elara accepted that is was most likely not going to get any better so she took it in stride. 

Ginny took Elara's hand and waved at Sirius. He waved back, hugged the boys, and then appereated away. Elara chuckled to herself before following the boys and Ginny onto the train and in an empty compartment. 

Elara sat down next her her fiancée and across from her brother, but Harry stood at the door. 

"Harry, why won't you sit?" Elara asked. He turned a bit to look at her. 

"I'm afraid everyone will come in here and bother you guys." Harry responded. "I want to make sure they don't try." 

Elara smiled lightly at him, stood up, locked the door, and closed the blinds before turning back to him.

"There. Now they don't even know it's us." Elara told him, before leaning forward and kissing his forehead. 

"I just-" He paused short in the middle of the phrase before making eye contact with her. "I don't want to be the chosen one. I don't want to be this guy everyone wants to be around. I just want to be around you guys and I know know being around you means everyone messing with you." 

"Harry. We're strong, we can handle it. If anyone wants to mess with you, or us, we will stick up."

Harry nodded his head and let go of a breath as Elara smiled at him before falling back down in the chair next to Ginevra 

"You worry far too much." Ginny informed him. Elara placed her back against the wall and sat with her arms crossed. Ginny then moved her head into Elara's lap and began tossing a ball into the air. 

"Why don't we talk about something else, to get our minds off of your well earned fame?" Draco suggested. Harry frowned at the word fame but nodded his head lightly anyways, almost seeming exhausted and that was the first time Elara really noticed the bags under his eyes. It was clear he hadn't been sleeping but now was not the time to talk about it. He leaned his head on Draco's shoulder and Draco smiled before addressing the girls. "How the wedding planning going?" 

Elara shrugged her shoulders and looked at him. 

"We haven't really thought about it. Everything has been hectic and our minds have been somewhere else." She replied. Draco frowned. 

"I don't think the war should put off your wedding. You two love each other, I don't see why you are waiting." Draco responded. 

"I think ptsd is a good reason to hold off though. We're still struggling with the weight of the war and I'm struggling with the fact that at one time I had three fathers to dance with and now I have one. We're just in no rush." Elara leaned her head back against the wall, looking through the crack in the blinds and saw Lucius and Remus standing in the hall, smiling sadly at her. She took a deep breath and then moved the blinds more so she couldn't see them.

She may have loved them but they were gone, and it hurt to know they couldn't be a part of anyone's lives but her own. She felt unbelievably guilty.

"Yeah, okay, that makes sense. I'm sorry." Draco muttered after a moment, studying the hurt in his sisters face. She turned her head towards him and smiled apologetically. 

"Why are you sorry? It was a valid question and it deserved a valid answer, which is what I gave it. I wasn't upset with you." 

Elara had a way with words and it made everything sound alright. Even though she was upset, though in her defense not at her brother but more at herself, she had made it sound as though she had nothing in the world to worry about. 

But she did.  
________________________________

"I can't believe she wants to resort the people who fought." Elara muttered, staring at the door. It felt like she did when she was eleven, only know she had the right people on her side. 

"I'm not surprised." Hermione spoke up. Elara turned to look at her. "War changes people. We've all changed. It's not like she's separating us, all the eighth years are going to stay in a separate dormitory. It's just a way to revaluate who you have become." 

And Hermione was right as always. Elara had changed, and she hoped for the better. The mark was still there and Elara took no time in covering it up, because she wanted people to know that what she did didn't define her. She was still a good person. 

Just as she set to respond, the doors opened and revealed the great hall, which was the brightest and most full it had been in all Elara's 7 years there. 

"Holy shit." She smiled. Ginny stood beside her and took her hand. Elara squeezed it in return 

They walked down the walkway, just as they did years ago only this time Elara had the love of her lives hand in hers. 

The sorting hat sang and Elara ignored it because she knew it would make her cry, she stood with her fiancée and ignore the pain being in the room she was in caused. 

Last time she was here, she was staring at her dead father and Sirius was crying on the stairs, and Remus looked so cold. 

After another few moments she heard the first name called. Then the second. Then more. 

"Hermione Granger." 

Hermione was much more calm that the first time she had walked up those steps. She sat on the stool. There was hardly a pause. 

"GRYFFINDOR!" 

Elara wasn't surprised, that was what she had expected. Many people were placed into their houses, but for some reason, unknown to Elara, the Malfoy children were not called in the M's. 

"Harry Potter!" 

He walked up and Elara smiled, forgetting that her and Draco had been skipped. 

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Ginevra Weasley!" 

Ginny sat on the stood, and a gust of wind blew from the ceiling, blowing her hair behind her. 

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Ronald Weasley!" 

"GRYFFINDOR!" 

Blaise was called last and that was when Elara realized that her and Draco were still standing there, names not called. Blaise was placed in Slytherin, and Elara placed a hand on his shoulder as he passed her. He smiled at her and she smiled back. She looked back at him, as he sat next to Theodore, smiling at him and the calm look on his face, before turning back to Mcgonagall. 

And then, something strange. 

"As to not confuse students, we have decided to call these two last, as their legal guardian requested a name change which was granted as of three days ago." Elara looked at her brother for a moment score turning back to Mcgonagall, who turned towards them and smiled. "Draco Black" 

Draco turned to Elara and smiled wider than Elara had seen in months. He sat on the stool and the hat was placed on his head. It was almost immediate. 

"GRYFINDOR!" 

Draco didn't look shocked, and Elara saw the same scene she did years ago. The hat was hardly placed on his head and he smirked when it called out the lion house, just as he had done at eleven when it called out the snake. 

There were murmurs of surprise but no claps, only because no one had the time before Elara's name was called out, in the same fashion, with the last name she admired so much for the strength it represented. 

"Elara Black!" 

Elara walked out, taking deep breaths. She was more nervous than she had been the first time. All eyes were on her, but for a completely different reason that before. 

She sat down on the stool, and then looked out at the beautiful woman who was sitting next to Harry. Draco was now sat across from them. There was an empty seat next to Draco. 

Then Elara noticed that there were no empty seats anywhere else and she smiled. 

"You're gonna put me in Gryfindor aren't you?" Elara asked the hat. 

"I'm going to put you were you belong." The hat replied. Elara told herself not to cry because of where she had come but she saw Remus and Lucius, her Mum, Pansy, Severus, Fred. They all sat in the back, smiling and she couldn't help the tears in her eyes. 

"Thank you." She said, because she already knew where she was going. 

"GRYFINDOR!" 

Elara made her place over to the Gryffindor table, and Dennis sprinted over to pull her into a giant hug. 

"Go Mum!" He shouted. Elara held him back and laughed. The room had been still silent until Ron finally clapped, then Ginny and Harry. 

Hermione followed by standing up and then it was everyone. 

The cheers broke out in the room. They had been surprised with Draco and her but they had time for it to sink in and now they were ecstatic to see the war heroes where they belong. 

Because they were brave and the needed to know it.

Elara looked over that the people by the wall, smiling and cheering along with everyone else. They were all clearly proud and it was all Elara ever really wanted. 

Elara looked over to her son who was cheering the loudest and she didn't feel bad for him being on his own because he wasn't and he was going to do the Slytherin house proud, and he was never alone. 

Dennis let go and stood up on the table. Ron followed and he didn't give Hermione a choice, forcing her to join him. 

"When I say Draco, you say Elara! DRACO!"

"Elara!" 

"Oh come on, you can be louder than that! DRACO!" 

"ELARA!" 

Harry had joined Dennis on the table to cheer for the love of his life, pulling Draco up with him. Ginny and Elara had gotten up there and Ginny was now hugging her fiancée from behind, Elara's arms wrapped around the arms on her waist. 

"DRACO!" Elara, Harry, and Dennis shouted. 

"ELARA!" Draco and Ginny shouted, with everyone else. 

It was an unspeakable moment. Everyone in the room was laughing and shouting. Minerva had never seen such house unity in all years of working at Hogwarts. She had thought the war was going to create a solemn, somber atmosphere but she should have known better. It was always those six, the ones who changed the world and they had brought another one with them this year. 

Normally she would be worried at the complete chaos in the room but right now, in this moment, she couldn't give a damn. 

The cheering in the room eventually died down, but the students excitement never did. Students moved to sit with their friends, no matter what house. 

The house system had been broken and the people of Hogwarts had never been happier. 

The school was what it used to be, and it was never going back.


	22. The Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was three days before Christmas break when her mother showed up. She was in tears and Elara was confused.
> 
> "Mother?" Elara said, closing her book and standing up. Her butt was wet from the damp grass.
> 
> "You will have a choice soon. You must pick Remus. Do you understand?" She responded. Elara's brows furrowed.
> 
> "What?"
> 
> Elara then felt herself beginning to fade. She looked around at what was happening until she chose to close her eyes.
> 
> If she fell asleep in a dream she always seemed to wake up.
> 
> She opened them again only to see a woman, dressed in a short black lace dress and long brown straight hair.
> 
> "Hello Elara." She said. Elara looked at her.
> 
> "Who the hell are you?"
> 
> "I'm death."

The first half of the year was actually boring. Elara already knew most of what she was being taught and Harry wasn't bringing about trouble like he used to, so Elara pretty much just read, slept, ate, and hung out with the people she loved.

At first, her parents and Remus came around a little with Pansy and Severus but after a little while, they stopped coming around altogether. Elara thought to call out to them one day when she had been sitting in a classroom on her first day and she recognized it as the one that Sirius had seen Remus die in, so she started crying and nothing could calm her down but Remus never came like she wanted him to. For a short time she thought she lost the gift but after a while, she realized that they just weren't coming.

She had never been so hurt in her life.

It was three days before Christmas break when her mother showed up. She was in tears and Elara was confused.

"Mother?" Elara said, closing her book and standing up. Her butt was wet from the damp grass.

"You will have a choice soon. You must pick Remus. Do you understand?" She responded. Elara's brows furrowed.

"What?"

Elara then felt herself beginning to fade. She looked around at what was happening until she chose to close her eyes.

If she fell asleep in a dream she always seemed to wake up.

She opened them again only to see a woman, dressed in a short black lace dress and long brown straight hair.

"Hello Elara." She said. Elara looked at her.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm death." She replied. Elara stared at her for a second before laughing. The woman's head tilted in confusion and Elara realized she was serious.

"Am I dead?" Elara asked her. She was kind of tired of having to ask that question.

"No dear, you're here for a completely different reason." Death assured. Elara would have let out a breath of relief if she wasn't still standing in front of Death herself.

"And that would be?" Elara asked. Death put her drink down on nothing and it disappeared.

"You need to pick someone to bring back." Death told her. Elara would have laughed but death seemed like she was a very serious woman so Elara didn't, for the fear of what death would think. Maybe it didn't matter what death thought but it was her future that rode on deaths shoulders, so she decided to keep her mouth shut.

"What?" Elara said instead.

"Life and I made a bet, and I lost. He said I had to do something good for someone and because you're the only person who escaped my grasp and then proceeded to retain a power most haven't even dreamed of, you seemed like the best candidate. Besides, I actually like you, you're honest and you take things as they come, not as you'd like them to be." Death explained. Elara furrowed her brows in disbelief. Not only was she standing in front of Death, but the woman herself was going to let her bring someone back. Elara thought back to what her mother said and then wondered who she should bring back. There were ten people she considered, so she turned to Death.

"Can I talk to everyone before I make my choice?" She requested. Death nodded her head.

"Of course."

There wasn't even a moment before death disappeared and in her place, ten people stood. Elara smiled as they looked back her.

"Okay, who do I bring back?" Elara asked. Everyone stepped back, in offering their place to someone else. "Not helpful."

"None of us will volunteer ourselves, love." Severus said. Elara frowned.

"Fine. I guess I'll have to do this through criteria. Everyone who has the person they love, step back."

That cut a large chunk out. Harry's parents stepped back, and Elara was sure they had been wondering why they were chosen but it was because of Elara's love for Harry. Dennis parents stepped back as well, and she knew she needed to talk to them later so they knew how much she loved their son. Lastly, Severus and her parents.

Then Pansy.

"Pansy?" Elara asked. She smiled.

"His name is Cole and he's funny and smart and cute. I think you'd like him" 

Elara smiled at the girl and nodded her head.

"I look forward to meeting him." Elara promised. Pansy stepped forwards and kissed Elara on the forehead before stepping back, before Elara turned to face the only ones left. 

"And then there were two." She muttered. Fred and Remus smiled apologetically at her. 

She remembered what her mother told her how she should pick Remus, but at another point, George spent most of his nights crying himself to sleep because he missed his brother. 

She didn't know what to do. 

"You have to decide." Death said from behind her. Elara turned to death. 

"Two." She said. Death rolled her eyes. 

"I let you bring someone back from the dead and you have to be selfish." 

"It's not for me. If I was bringing someone back for me I would pick my mother. She's the one I've missed the longest and I have one dad but no mother. But she wants to stay here and I understand why, but I'm bringing back Fred and Remus because I may love them but there are two people in the world who are struggling to live without them." Elara responded. Deaths eyebrows raised before nodding her head. 

"Okay. Two." Death agreed. Elara smiled at her. 

"Thank you." Elara said. Death lifted her head and turned to all of the ones Elara hadn't chosen. 

"It's time to go, you'll all see her later" Death assured. Elara smiled to herself because she knew that meant she would keep her power to see them, which was a relief. 

Maybe death wasn't so bad after all.   
________________________________

Elara didn't exactly know what to do after bringing them back. She hadn't told anyone that she could see the dead, so just randomly showing up with people who had been dead for months would probably be a bit of a shock. 

She also had to think about what to tell the people who's loved ones weren't coming back. Draco would be easy, but it was more Dennis and Harry she was worried about. 

She hugged Remus and Fred tight after they had appeared and then she talked to them. They went to a muggle cafe knowing that no one would recognize them there. They ate and laughed and Elara almost forgot that they had been dead since May. 

Then, after she paid, she remembered. 

"I think we should go to The Burrow first, and then if George isn't there, the joke shop. Lastly to see Sirius, because he will be the most angry."

"True. Sirius is always angry when people shock him." Remus agreed. Fred turned and hugged Elara. 

"If you don't mind, I want to do this on my own." He said. Elara looked at him and nodded. 

"Yeah of course. I'll drop Ginny and Ron by later, see if you need help explaining and then go back to school." I responded. He smiled at me and then hugged me again. 

"Thank you." He said again. He had told her that maybe eight times in the last two hours but Elara didn't blame him. 

"You're welcome." Elara responded. She pulled away and kissed his forehead. "See you soon." 

He nodded his head and pulled away, then he was gone.  
________________________________

Elara apperated with Remus in tow to the book shop, then she told Remus to go upstairs through the stairs on the outside before going into the bookshop to meet her father. Elara couldn't believe the amount of people in there. It was a Saturday and all of the Hogwarts kids were out, Elara just hadn't exactly expected so many of them to be there in her book shop. She turned and flipped the sign to close, and waited for everyone to leave before approaching the counter. 

"Dad." She said. He looked at her and smiled. 

"Elara. Ginny came in with Dennis and said she hadn't seen you all day." Sirius said. 

"I had something I had to do, look. I need you to come upstairs with me and remain calm." Elara said. He looked at her with brows furrowed. 

"Okay, let me just close up-" 

"I've already done that dad." Elara informed him. He frowned. 

"What's going on?" He asked. Elara took a deep breath. 

"I have been able to see dead people since I came back. I don't tell anyone because if didn't want them to think I was crazy but I have to tell you now because death approached me today-" 

"Are you dying?" Sirius interrupted. 

"No Dad, I'm not dying, I'm just fine." Elara assured him. He visibly let go of a breath. 

"What's wrong then?" He asked. "Why did death approach you?" 

Elara struggled with what to say before she decided not to say anything at all. Instead she grabbed his hand and pulled him from behind the counter and up the stairs they went through the door. Sirius opened his mouth to ask what was going on again but Elara moved out of the way and Remus jumped up from the couch. 

Sirius stood in shock for a moment, and Remus decided to talk first. 

"I know this is surprising, I didn't exactly expect it myself but death let her bring two people back, and me and Fred where her choice." Remus explained. Sirius smiled through his tears and ran forward, pulling him into a kiss, Remus kissing back. Elara smiled at them before backing out of the room.

Elara wondered if he would be mad at her for not telling him all that time but he was happy now. He had the love of his life back. 

Elara walked up to Hogwarts and through the corridor to her room, which she was supposed to share with Draco but he spent so much time in Harry's room, because he got his own, that Elara pretty much got it all to herself. Ginny spent every night in there but she was always busy before dinner, so Elara never saw her until they sat down at what was previously known as the Gryffindor table but was now the table the chosen one and his friends sit at the end of.

"Where the hell have you been?" Ginny asked as she walked into the room. Elara shouted in surprise before turning to her fiancée, her hand on her chest as to catch her breath. 

"Holy shit Gin, don't scare me like that." Elara muttered but Ginny seemed to pay it no mind. 

"Where have you been?" 

"It's hard to explain. It would be easier if I just kinda showed you." Elara responded. Ginny's eyes narrowed in judgement. 

"Whatchu mean?" Ginny asked. Elara held out her hand. 

"Come with me." She ordered. 

"Why?" 

"Ginny, trust me." Elara muttered. Ginny looked at her for another moment before taking Elara's hand and leading her to the fireplace. 

She lifted the floo powder and pushed Ginny in. 

"El-" 

"The Burrow." 

Elara threw the flew powder down and watched Ginny disappear before following. 

When she stepped out, Ginny was standing facing the fireplace, her arms folded. She had a frown in her face as she faced the love of her life and Elara smiled brightly back at her angry fiancée. 

"Why did you bring me here?" She asked, clearly annoyed that Elara just threw her here with no prior warning. 

"Because of me." Fred said from behind her. Ginny turned and furrowed her brows. 

"What reason could have to bring me here George?" Ginny asked. But Fred shook his head and then George came into the room, his face still red from crying and Ginny's eyes widened. 

"He's not George, I am." George said. 

"Honestly woman you call yourself our sister." Fred muttered. Ginny's eyes were still wide and she looked back and forth between the two boys. 

"How?" Ginny asked. Fred smiled. 

"Courtesy of your fiancée." Fred responded. Ginny turned back to Elara who was now leaning against the fire place. 

"How did you do this?" Ginny asked, tears in her eyes. 

"The explanation can wait, I have to go get Ron and then I have to take Harry, Draco, and Dennis to Remus." 

"He's back too?" 

"Yes." 

"How the hell did you manage to bring them both back?" Ginny continued, crying. Elara moved forward and kissed Ginny's forehead. 

"All in due time my love." Elara said, before stepping back, watching at Ginny moved forward to hug Fred. Elara smiled as the flames engulfed her and she found herself in the eight year common room, where Draco and Harry sat. Harry looked up from his homework, and Draco looked up from Harry's head where he had been throwing Bertie Bott's every flavor beans. Elara looked down to see almost an entire package on the floor. 

"I don't know how you deal with him." Elara muttered to Harry. He shook his head. 

"I don't either." Harry said back, in the same much exasperated tone. Elara chuckled before Draco threw a bean at her face. She turned her attention to him. 

"You wanna be like that, you don't get to see the surprise, come on Harry." 

Harry, who was most likely looking for any excuse to leave his homework behind in the dust, stood and looped his arm with Elara's. 

"Wait, surprise?" Draco questioned, but Elara ignore him and led Harry to the Slytherin common rooms. Draco followed behind them. Elara, who didn't even need the password to be let in, emerged through the doorway to see Dennis, playing with exploding snaps. She smiled at him. 

"Hey mum, where've you been all day?" He asked her, waving goodbye to his friends as they continued to throw the snaps without him. 

"I have a surprise." She told him instead of answering. His face perked up more than before. 

"Really? What is it?" He asked. 

"If I told you then it wouldn't be a surprise dummy" Elara replied. He nodded his head and Elara held her hand out to him. "Come on." 

Elara walked back through the portrait to see Draco standing against the wall. 

"Can I come?" He asked. Elara smiled at him, not answering because she didn't have to. 

"Where exactly are we going?" Harry asked as Elara led them out of Hogwarts and down the snowy path to the bookshop. 

"Why are we at Lupin's?" Dennis asked. Elara smiled at the name, seeing how fitting the title of the bookstore really was. 

"You'll see." Elara responded.

She paused and looked over at the boys before opening the door and walking up the stairs. The three boys looked at each other before following after her. 

"Elara what the hell are we doing?" Draco called to his sister as she walked through the door. Dennis went through first and looked at Remus. Remus smiled and Dennis looked back, his brows furrowed. Then Draco came through, where he sat still in shock. Last was Harry. 

They all sat staring at him. It was quiet for a moment. 

"I know it been a long time, but I've never stopped looking over you." Remus said. There was a another moment before Harry ran forward and launched himself into Remus' arms.

Elara smiled. 

All was right.


	23. The Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How's training?" Elara asked him. He sat down at the table. 
> 
> "Tiring. Ron and I spend too much time together and never get enough sleep, and Ron gets really cranky without enough sleep." Draco told her. She smiled and sat down across from him. 
> 
> "Anything exciting happen yet?" She continued. 
> 
> "No. We're supposedly looking for some guy as Ron and I's first assignment. We're working under three of the top aurors." Draco replied and he was avoiding eye contact with his sister for fear of what he said next would do to her 
> 
> "Any way you could be less cryptic? Why are you being so vague?" Elara asked. Draco looked up, and there was fear clear in his eyes.
> 
> "We're looking for Theodore's father." He told her. Elara looked at her brother and laughed slightly but his face stayed straight so Elara's fell. 
> 
> "Excuse me?" Elara muttered. "You're looking for a dead man. That seems like a waste of time."
> 
> She knew he wasn't looking for a dead man because no one in the auror office was stupid. They weren't gonna send five people to look for a dead man which could only mean one thing. 
> 
> "He's not dead El. Someone spotted him about a month ago."

One year later 

Elara had taken her time in deciding what she wanted to be. It was a long road after that. 

Everyone has been shocked at her choice. She was a healer in their eyes, the best damn healer there was but she didn't want that pressure for the rest of her life. She had been healing under pressure for over a year, she was done with that part of her life. It only made her feel as if she was loosing it. 

Harry was happy to have her by his side however. 

"I can't believe you didn't become an Auror." Elara laughed as Harry sat next to her, huffing at the papers and books in front of him. He glared over at her

"I can't believe you didn't become a healer." He argued back. Elara frowned at him. 

"Touché." She responded. He chuckled slightly before looking back down at the books. 

"Why is there so much work involved in becoming a professor?" He muttered, hitting his head on table. 

"Because you have to teach them things, so you actually have to know things." 

"I didn't learn anything in school!" Harry argued. Elara laughed. 

"Exactly! This wouldn't be so hard if you payed attention in class." 

Harry opened his mouth to respond but lost the chance when Sirius walked in, his husbands hand in his. 

"Hey kids, how you doing?" He asked. Elara furrowed her brows. 

"Dads?" Elara asked. 

"Where's Ginny and Dennis?" Sirius responded. Remus laughed and gestured his hand towards the cupboard, and Elara nodded. He pulled out four cups and began to warm milk. 

"Ginny and I decided that she would go straight to get Dennis after practice and then she'd come home." Elara replied, deciding ignore the fact that her fathers had just barged into her home without warning. 

It wasn't the first time and it wasn't gonna be the last.

"And how long will that take?" Sirius asked and Elara smiled at him, a hint of annoyance in her face. 

"As long as it takes to piss you off?" Elara replied. He gave her a face of annoyance in response, and it was clear on him. 

"Oh. Thank you. Very solid answer." Sirius responded. Elara chuckled at him and stuck her tongue out just as the door unlocked. She turned her head to see her fiancée walk through the door with their son following. Elara smiled and stood up, making her way over to her fiancée. 

"Hey you." Ginny smiled at her, but she looked exhausted. Elara kissed her forehead then looked to her son. 

"How's school?" Elara asked, raising her eyebrows. 

As of late, Dennis had been following in Fred and George's footsteps, using the things his uncles had sent him to prank as many people as physically possible. 

"It's good! I'm getting good grades!" He tried. He knew she would be happy about that, and there fore he could try to distract her. 

"Nice try mister, I know about transforming Eloise Hannon into a rat-" Elara started. 

"She ratted me out for being tho one who painted the great hall. She wanted to be a rat so that's what she became." Dennis told his mother. Elara was impressed, and she didn't want to be mad at him because that was kind of funny, in fact everyone else in the room was trying their very best to not laugh, but Elara had to be mad. 

She looked around the room and Sirius attempted to discreetly give Dennis a high five but Elara saw it. She glared at her father before turning back to Dennis. 

"We will talk about this later when your grandfather isn't trying to undermine me." Elara told him, and he nodded his head. 

They never did talk about it, mostly because Elara would laugh if they did.

The family got together at Grimauld for reunion dinner, Draco being the last one to get there. 

"Hey brother." Elara said as he walked through the door, huffing in exhaustion. 

"Hey." He replied, looking down at her. He kissed her forehead, and then he hugged Ginny, Dennis, and his dads before moving over to Harry. 

"How's training?" Elara asked him. He sat down at the table. 

"Tiring. Ron and I spend too much time together and never get enough sleep, and Ron gets really cranky without enough sleep." Draco told her. She smiled and sat down across from him. 

"Anything exciting happen yet?" She continued. 

"No. We're supposedly looking for some guy as Ron and I's first assignment. We're working under three of the top aurors." Draco replied and he was avoiding eye contact with his sister for fear of what he said next would do to her 

"Any way you could be less cryptic? Why are you being so vague?" Elara asked. Draco looked up, and there was fear clear in his eyes.

"We're looking for Theodore's father." He told her. Elara looked at her brother and laughed slightly but his face stayed straight so Elara's fell. 

"Excuse me?" Elara muttered. "You're looking for a dead man. That seems like a waste of time."

She knew he wasn't looking for a dead man because no one in the auror office was stupid. They weren't gonna send five people to look for a dead man which could only mean one thing. 

"He's not dead El. Someone spotted him about a month ago." 

"And why didn't you tell me a month ago?" Elara asked, spinning her ring on her finger. She was staring at Draco and Ginny grabbed her hand. 

"I only found out today. I didn't want to talk you before dinner so we could enjoy it but I couldn't keep it from you." Draco told her. She squeezed Ginny's hand in her own. 

"Why does this affect mother so much?" Dennis asked and Elara turned to him. 

"Dennis, baby, come here." She said. Dennis inched closer to her, frowning as she let go of Ginny's hand and grabbed Dennis' hand instead. 

"What's going on?" He continued. 

"You know how we all hurt people in the war to save the people we love-" 

"Because we would do anything to save anyone here no matter what the cost." 

"Yes. Well, I killed Theodore's father, or I thought I did. Now that it turns out he's alive there's a possibility he will go after two people, Theodore and me. That means you and Ginny as well." 

"So because someone hates you, Mum and I are at risk too?" He muttered and Elara frowned because it was clear this hurt him. 

"I'm so sorry-" 

"Why are you sorry? You always do what's right and you did it that day too. If he comes anywhere near us I'm gonna make sure he regrets it." 

Elara smiled at Dennis and he smiled back. 

"It's what you would do." He continued. 

And it would have been had he not gotten to her first.   
________________________________

"Oh good! You're awake." A voice said. Elara shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. It was far too bright in the room and she was somehow exhausted. "Come on Malfoy, open your eyes." 

Elara knew where she was, she was in danger and she fully recognized the voice of Theodore Nott's father now. 

She pried her eyes open, fully prepared to see a basement or dungeon of some kind but in fact all she saw was darkness. 

Where did the brightness go? 

She peered ahead of her, thinking she saw something move in the darkness but nothing came out. 

She looked down at the ropes that tied her arms and legs to the chair, and she tried to break through them with magic but it didn't work. She let go and took a breath of frustration before stopping short and looking around again. 

"Where are you Amerial?" Elara asked. She had never spoken his first name before, because when she was around him she was told to be respectful, but now she couldn't give a damn. 

"Amerial? Never heard that from you before. Some how it seems you've lost your manners." Nott appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of you. "Maybe I'll just have to teach you them again." 

Elara frowned. 

"You would if you weren't just going to torture and kill me." 

Elara was trying to think back to the last place she was, making sure that no one from her family was around but she just couldn't think. 

She was hoping that they were all home safe, and Draco was looking for her with Ron. She was hoping that she would make it out of here alive. 

"I'd almost forgotten how smart you were." He joked, putting his hands on her knees and leaning closer to her face. 

"And I had almost forgotten how stupid you were, considering I thought you were dead." Elara replied. He chucked at the thought. 

"I figured the only way to get out of that was to fake being dead and then to get the hell out of there." 

"You're even more of a coward than I thought. You just left, you even left Voldemort, your master." Elara taunted. Amerial stood up straight and sliced a knife across her face. She hasn't even seen him have it, how did she miss that? 

"Don't speak his name." His voice was darker, less taunting, more threatening. Elara laughed a bit, ignoring the cut across her face. 

As she learned in the Malfoy home, ignore the pain. 

"He's dead! What's he gonna do, come back and haunt me. He already tried, I didn't work." Elara told him. Amerial's eyes narrowed. 

"What do you mean?" He asked. Elara closed her eyes for a moment. He slapped her and then shook her chair "What do you mean?!" 

"Damn Amerial! One would think you were Bellatrix with how protective you are of dead old Voldemort." Elara joked. Amerial sliced at her again, this time on her arm, but Elara pretended to be strong. 

Ignore the pain. 

"What did you mean?" 

"I mean, I can see the dead and the shit fucker came to me, trying to hurt me, and I banished him to the furthest parts of hell, where he belongs." 

Amerial was practically steaming with anger. 

"You're a liar!"

Elara was lying, he never came to her and she can't banish people.

But the fucker didn't need to know that. 

"I really don't know where the Bellatrix side of you has come from! I've never seen anyone so protective of Voldemort." Elara taunted further.  

Amerial screamed and stabbed her shoulder again before pulling out his wand. 

"You'll pay for your insolence you ungrateful bitch, crucio!" 

Elara felt like she was been set a flame but she didn't move, she didn't cry or scream. She wouldn't give Nott the satisfaction. He let it go. 

"I don't get it! How are you so calm?" He muttered. 

"I have control. I have no reason you give you what you want." Elara told him. She snapped her fingers, thinking that when she did so the ropes would vanish but they didn't. 

She didn't understand. 

She assumed that she was weak before, that's why they didn't fly away when she struggled but they were still there.

She was still trapped.

Amerial laughed and Elara looked up. 

"Did you really think I was stupid enough to forget you have wandless magic? Those ropes aren't going anywhere." 

God, Elara was so scared. She had no way out. She didn't know what to do. 

"Don't be afraid. It's gonna be alright."

That was Ginny's voice, but Ginny wasn't there. Elara stared at Amerial, and she wanted to cry but she knew better, she couldn't give in. Giving him what he wants would be her death, and she knew that, so she didn't cry. 

If she could be strong in the presence of Voldemort, she could be strong here.

So she sat up and looked at him, and god she was so tired. 

"So lets get this over with?" She asked. Amerial raised his eyebrows. 

"Oh no, Mrs. Malfoy, this will not be short. You will feel every bone crack and every slice. This is an art form, we have to do it right." 

Elara wanted to cry from the way his mouth twisted into a sick smile and she realized in the moment that no matter what she did, she would never stop being Mrs. Malfoy. 

She was always gonna be that evil eleven year old girl in a family she hated. She had never really escaped her name. 

She felt like she wanted to vomit. 

She was unfocused, and that was his edge to get her to scream, and Amerial knew it, which is why he brought the hammer as hard as he could down on her arm, effectively shattering her femur. 

Elara's scream was exactly what he wanted, the blood curdling, earth shattering, painful scream. Amerial felt that jump in his stomach and Elara was hyperventilating. 

He hit it again and she seethed in pain. Then the knife, then the cruciartis, and then they repeated. 

By the night time, Elara couldn't even breath, and to be honest she didn't even really remember how. 

"Okay. I need to go get my beauty rest so we can continue our fun tomorrow." He reached down and grabbed her face, and for some reason unknown to Elara, he kissed her. 

"Fuck you." Elara muttered. 

Amerial laughed and Elara had every urge to strangle him, and she hated the thought. 

That thought that she could actually kill someone and be happy about it, that was what she never wanted. 

She killed during war, that was enough murder for two whole lifetimes, but here she was with the urge to take a mans life. 

But when she looked back to where he had been standing, he was gone. 

And everything Elara had done, all of her happiness, the training she had gone through to be okay again, was shattered like glass. 

The war may have been the giant solar flare that had swallowed the moon, but this? This was every star in the sky being destroyed. 

Every constellation was destroyed one by one and now the sky was just blank. 

Elara was just blank.


	24. The Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Amerial will kill you." Severus reminded her. Elara looked down. 
> 
> "I know. I'm guessing it'll today or tomorrow. I think he's getting bored." Elara replied, laughing through her tears at the thought. How could anyone be entertained by it in the first place? 
> 
> "You know Draco will never rest until Amerial is brought to justice? Sirius and Ginny won't. Harry, Dennis, Remus, the Weasley's. No one will rest until the man is dead. None of them will ever forget you." Severus comforted. 
> 
> And she knew that. Of course she did. Elara knew how much she meant to those people, and the thought of her loosing them just as they would loose her was gonna hurt more than any death she could have.

This was the darkest point, when Elara was so legitimately far gone from the earth that she hardly even remembered what hurt. 

Maybe it was because everything hurt. 

Elara estimated she had been there for 19 days, which meant she didn't have much time left before he killed her and disappeared forever.

Some would wonder how he hasn't gotten bored of her, but every day there was something new to torment her with. 

Recently it had been more mental, reminding her that she was never gonna see her family again, ripping the ring off her finger and smashing it to pieces. 

Telling her that no one had found her because no one gave a shit about her. 

Elara tried her best not to let him get to her, because that is what he wanted, but each day it got worse. Elara was already so close to death that it didn't even seem like it was worth it to fight him anymore. 

She gives in and he makes it easier, stops her suffering. 

She gives in, and he kills her.   
________________________________

"19 days, Ron, 19 days and we've found jack shit!" Draco shouted, swiping the files they had been looking on the ground. Ron swiped his wand, all of them falling back in a neat stack, and then placed his hand on Draco's shoulder. 

"We're gonna find her mate, I promise." Ron told him. Draco nodded his head, putting his hands on the table. 

"Yeah. We're gonna find her. And him" Draco straightened up and grabbed Ron by the shoulders. "Wait! That's it!"

Ron's brows furrowed and Draco let go of him. 

"What's it?" Ron asked. 

"To find Elara, we just have to find Amerial's hiding spot, and there's one person who might know where that is!" Draco shouted. Ron's face lit up. 

"Theodore." Ron clicked. Draco nodded. 

"Theodore wasn't close to his father, but he knew him the best of anyone. Amerial always wanted him to be his prodigy." Draco explained. "Come on." 

Ron grabbed Draco shoulder and then felt them being pulled. When they landed, they were at St. Mungo's training center. 

"Healer Musgroves, we need to see Theodore Nott immediately please." Draco told him. Musgroves either heard the urgency in his voice, or he already knew about why they were here, because he disappeared through a set of door and not ten seconds later returned with an out of breath Theo. 

"What is it?" Theo asked worried. The look of sympathy on Draco's face gave him the opposite of comfort. 

"I know you are aware that Elara is missing but you don't know all of it." Ron told him. Theo pulled his gloves off of his hands and threw them into the garbage before looking back towards them both. 

"Theo, your father is alive." Draco continued. Theodore's face wasn't readable as he walked towards the locker rooms. Draco looked at Ron before both of them followed him. He was already changing out of his scrubs. 

"He's had her for almost three weeks." Theo muttered and it wasn't really a question or a statement. Theo pulled his sweater on before looking back at the two boys and continued. "He will kill her soon if we don't find her. He gets tired of it when the person become to weak to fight back anymore. I know Elara is stubborn but Amerial can break anyone." 

Draco nodded his head. 

"Do you know what he's doing to her?" Draco asked, and he knew he shouldn't have because Theo had a look of worry and fear on his face. 

"Yes. I do." Theo responded, and Draco opened his mouth to tell Theodore to continue but Ron interrupted him. 

"Do you know where he could be?" He asked. Theo nodded his head. 

"I know where he killed my mom and Mayella." Theo muttered, and Draco could tell that sentence was hard for him to mutter. The topic of his mother and sister was one most other than Daphne avoided, because most other than Daphne didn't know how to talk to him. 

"Where?" 

"Under disillusionment charms in our old backyard." 

Draco remembered that backyard. He remembered him and Elara playing back there with Theo when they were kids. He remembered where they weren't allowed to go. 

It hit him in that moment that he had been standing right next to the place his sister would be tortured when he was a child. 

Why didn't he think of that sooner, the place they weren't allowed to go, Amerial's so-called space? 

"Take us there?" Ron asked after a moment. 

"I'll show you where it is but I don't think Draco should go in. What Amerial does to people, if you see it, it's burned into your mind. If you see Elara like that, you may not ever see her the same again."

Draco almost argued until he pictured it, the blood, the cuts, the pain. It was horrifying, and even though he was sure she couldn't be that bad, not as bad as he just pictured it, he still didn't want to see her in pain. 

And he was right, that she wasn't as bad as he pictured her to look. 

She was worse.   
________________________________

Amerial locked the door behind him as he left the room, even though he probably knew Elara could even move, let alone escape, and locking the door was pointless. 

Elara looked down at the ground, catching her reflection in the large bucket of water on the floor that he had been shoving her face into, for the fun of watching her struggle. By now it had blood in it, also from the cuts and bruises that were everywhere. 

Elara knew her arm was setting improperly, considering she couldn't move it into the position it needed to be in, but that wouldn't much matter if she was dead. 

"He's gonna kill you soon if you don't find a way out of here." 

Serverus' tone was as condescending as ever and Elara looked up to see him standing in front of her, surprisingly with James Potter in tow. 

"Where the hell have you guys been?" She muttered as best she could. She could feel her vocal cords tearing themselves apart with every word. 

"It's not exactly a good time to just appear and talk." Severus responded, and James hit him on the arm before turning to Elara once again. 

"I'm sorry we've been missing, most of us we're planning on coming earlier but it's taken a lot for any of us to come and talk to you, and look at you, when you look so broken and close to dead." James told her. 

"That probably tends to happen when you're being tortured until your death." Elara responded. 

It had been so long since she had actually spoken real sentence instead of just words and crying. 

James turned to Severus. 

"I'll leave you two be." He muttered, before disappearing. Elara smiled, knowing that she was gonna see him soon. 

"Amerial will kill you." Severus reminded her. Elara looked down. 

"I know. I'm guessing it'll today or tomorrow. I think he's getting bored." Elara replied, laughing through her tears at the thought. How could anyone be entertained by it in the first place? 

"You know Draco will never rest until Amerial is brought to justice? Sirius and Ginny won't. Harry, Dennis, Remus, the Weasley's. No one will rest until the man is dead. None of them will ever forget you." Severus comforted. 

And she knew that. Of course she did. Elara knew how much she meant to those people, and the thought of her loosing them just as they would loose her was gonna hurt more than any death she could have. 

"I'm not ready." Elara admitted, on the verge of sobbing. "I don't want to go. I want to stay." 

Severus wondered what she had honestly done to deserve the life she got, the one that caused her so much heartache. 

"I know. And I wish you could." He replied, kneeling in front of her. She nodded her head in understanding, she had never been thought anyone would be able to save her, no matter how much she wanted it. 

But this was it. This would be the last few moments of her life. 

And when Amerial returned, and Severus disappeared, she took the last few breaths she would take before it was all done. 

"It's time for you to go." Amerial informed her. Elara nodded, knowing there was nothing left to do but accept the death that would put her out of all of the pain she was in. 

There was a crash, and then everything was black.   
________________________________

Theo was standing there, in front of the charmed building his father had just walked in. He looked back at Ron and Draco. 

"Draco, I won't let you down." Theo told him. Draco nodded his head. 

"I know." He replied. 

Theo looked back forward before nodding his head. A spell was shot from behind him and the illusions were dropped, a wall crashing and breaking open. 

Theo ran in, and threw a ward up behind him so that Ron and Draco were forced to stay out. 

It was his father, he had to fix this. 

Amerial turned to him. 

"Oh. You. Great." Amerial muttered and Theo tilted his head, raising his eyebrows. 

"I thought you'd be happy to see me. I thought you liked me considering you spared my life after you killed my mother and sister." Theo responded. Amerial nodded his head. 

"I assumed you'd be like me. I was wrong." Amerial clarified. Theo laughed. 

"I'd rather die than be anything like you." Theo replied. Amerial smirked. 

"So be it." 

Amerial raised his wand and threw a curse in his sons direction, Theo dodging it and the impact hitting the wall behind him. Theo threw a curse in response. 

"I'm not a weak little kid anymore Amerial!" Theo assured him. Amerial laughed. 

"That's where you're wrong! You've always been weak Theodore, and I can see, nothing has changed." 

"You won't intimidate me, and you won't get inside my head. I know your tricks, I lived with them my whole life." Theo told him and Amerial raised his eyebrows. 

"Do you honestly you have any chance of beating me? You've come in here to die, all for some stupid little girl!" 

"I know I'll beat you. She's saved my life before, it's my turn to return the favor." 

"We'll see about that." Amerial responded, facing his son. 

It was in this moment that the wards fell, because Harry had brought them down. 

Theo wasn't exactly sure when Harry had gotten there, but he assumed Draco had sent him a patronus. 

The three boys stepped into the room and followed by Ginny, standing behind Theodore as back up. 

"Oh, you're all going to fight against me? Why didn't you call experienced Aurors instead of stupid kids?" Amerial asked. 

Behind them, Elara stirred in her chair but none really seemed to notice. 

"You mean the man who killed Voldemort isn't good enough for you? Or perhaps the boy who protected him from death thousands of times? Maybe the one who fought along his side, loves him for everything, and fought against his family to save the chosen one? Or maybe the girl who helped tear Voldemort's precious followers apart from the inside. None of these people seem qualified enough to kill you?" Theo responded. 

Elara eyes opened and she looked ahead of her to see the people she loved standing in front of the person who wanted her to die. 

Amerial looked at his son, his eyebrows raised, before throwing a spell that threw the five of them back. He took the opportunity to shoot a curse at one of them, throwing Ron against the wall. He groaned as he fell to the floor. 

"Ron!" Harry shouted but Ron waved him off.

"I'm alright, go." Ron assured. Harry nodded his head then turned at shot a curse at Amerial. He seethed as he slid back, but otherwise seemed unharmed. 

This was a pattern after that. Amerial was strong, he would send someone flying, someone else would curse him, then he would send someone else back. 

Theodore had just stood back up when the worst was thrown at him. 

"Avada Kedavra!" 

The curse was spiraling at him, and he was so close to being hit that he froze. 

That was before he was thrown to the left and the spell hit the wall, fizzling as it made impact. Everyone was breathing heavily, bruised and burned, and Theo looked to see who had saved him but everyone shook their heads. 

"You were always slow." A voice muttered. Everyone looked back to see Elara standing, looking so tired and so broken she was almost dead but somehow she was smiling. "How many times am I gonna have to save your arse?" 

"How are you free?!" Amerial shouted, and Elara chuckled because it was so clear he was angry. 

"You made a mistake. You tried to kill people I loved. I'm willing to die for them, and I'm also stronger because of them. I see they are in danger, I get angry. I get angry, my powers grow." 

"It's impossible." 

"Apparently not." Elara glared, before flicking her wrist, watching as Amerial's head snapped almost all the way behind him and snapped back. His body fell to the ground and Elara took a deep breath, leaning her hand against the chair behind her for a second before moving forward and stopping in front of her tormenter. She was hyperventilating, and she felt like she would fall to the ground any second, but nevertheless she stomped down on his face. Then she did it again, and again, and again, screaming with every hit. 

"Elara! Elara baby stop!" Ginny shouted, begin forward towards her. She was almost there when the skull cracked, and the mans head was caved inwards, the blood pooled around him and splashed all over Elara. 

Ginny stopped for a moment, looking at the horrific picture that had become Amerial's face, before hearing Elara sob. She moved forwards to her fiancée and pulled her into him. Elara flinched for a moment before clinging to Ginny. 

Ginny held her close, and she had never been so relieved in her life. Elara was back into her arms. 

"We need to get her to St. Mungo's! Everyone needs to get checked out but we have to get her there. She could have internal damage, and that can kill her." Theo told him. Ginny nodded her head. 

"We'll meet you there." She replied. Theo nodded, and appearated. The rest of the boys followed, and Ginny took one more look at Amerial, just assuring herself that he was dead, before apperating away.   
________________________________

Theo had disappeared with Elara as soon as they had gotten there, and hadn't comeback out. The other four in the fight had been checked out, worst injuries amount them being bruised ribs and a broken arm, and then they had showered. Sirius and Remus had shown up with Dennis, not saying anything about the fight, and hugged everyone. 

Now they were all standing in the waiting room, and Ginny was wondering why they had been gone for so long.

"When did they go back there?" Sirius asked, interrupting the silence. 

"About three hours ago." 

"That's a really long time. Something must be wrong." Dennis muttered. Ginny pulled him into her. 

"She's gonna be just fine baby. You and I both know how strong she is."

Dennis was sure that she was convincing herself just as much as him, but he didn't mind. 

"I know." He replied. Ginny smiled down at him, before kissing his forehead. 

"Guys." Theo spoke as he walked into the waiting room. They all looked over. "She gonna be just fine. They have cleaned up as much as they can and now we just wait for everything to completely heal." 

You could feel the tension dissolve in the room and everyone felt like they could breathe again. 

"When can we see her?" Sirius asked after a moment of catching his breath. 

"Now. She's asleep but she should be awake soon." Theo replied before he looked over at Ginny. "She should be dead. With all of the trauma she suffered to her body, she should have gone into shock, especially after she used the last of her energy to kill Amerial. She's strong, almost unhumanly so." 

Ginny smiled, and Sirius stepped up from behind her, kissing her forehead before moving towards the rooms. Everyone followed after, Theo leading. 

They stepped into the room, seeing with Elara was already awake. She smirked at them, watching all of them melt into relief. She looked tired but otherwise, much healthier than she had been just a few hours ago 

"You miss me?"


	25. The Union

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Sirius, this is not the first marriage among our children." 
> 
> "The first two just decided to go down to the ministry and get legally married. There was no wedding." Sirius defended. Remus chuckled, smiling at his husband, and then took his hand. 
> 
> "You did fine at our wedding, you'll do just fine at there's." Remus comforted. 
> 
> "I'm not worried about messing it up. This just mean our kids have grown up, and they're gonna live in a house, and have kids of their own, and be happy-"
> 
> "Isn't that what you want?" 
> 
> Sirius turned his head to see Draco, standing in the doorway in his tuxedo, smiling brighter than Sirius may have ever seen him. 
> 
> "Of course it's what I want for you, I just wish sometimes all of you were still at Hogwarts, and I wish you had always been mine." He replied, moving towards his son. 
> 
> "We've always been your kids dad, even if we didn't know it." Draco told him, and Sirius nodded his head because it was true. Since the first time he saw them, they were all his, and he knew they would be.

Three years later 

Elara, Ginny, and Draco had gone to the muggle tattoo parlor together, Harry there for moral support and a constellation tattoo to represent Draco, knowing almost nothing about what they wanted, only that they wanted the faded Dark Mark's on their arm to be gone for good. 

Elara had tested the theory on her own, that because they were faded you could tattoo over them, volunteering a death eater in askaban for he task. She talked to Shaklebolt, before Karkoroff was transferred into a cell and Elara used an at home tattoo machine to tattoo a simple moon on the knocked out man. 

He had consented, wanting any reason to not look at it anymore, and the moon scape wasn't the best job because Elara couldn't tattoo professionally, but it wasn't bad either. 

They waited a year to see if the dark mark would reappear but nothing came back so they decided to go before then wedding. 

"Any idea what you want?" The woman asked Elara. Elara then presented her arm. 

"This was a-" she paused for a moment, looking at the other two and they looked at her for answers. "Gang tattoo." She finished, and the lady seemed to believe her before she looked at it. She had a small amount of fear in her eyes. 

"You're Elara Black, the war hero." The woman whispered. Elara looked at her. She was younger, maybe 18 or 19, and she looked slightly familiar but not enough for Elara to know who it was. 

"How did you know that?" Elara asked. The woman smiled at her. 

"I'm a witch ma'am, was in my third year during the war. I would be honored to cover this up, any ideas?" She repeated the question. "Or should I just go sketch something and you see if you like it?" 

"The second idea seems good to me." Elara replied. 

Elara left with a black and white geometric tattoo that she was so in love with. Ginny had gotten a floral scape ad Elara loved it almost as much as hers. Draco got a large tree, the stary sky behind it. 

Elara smiled at the people she loved. 

They were finally free.   
________________________________

"You seem nervous." Remus muttered, fixing Sirius' tie. 

"Of course I'm nervous. After all of this, all our kids will be married." Sirius replied, picking up the glass and taking a sip of the water inside. 

"Our kids having been practically married since they were in school." Remus pointed out, now fixing the flower attached to Sirius' dress robes. Sirius could tell Remus was getting more nervous by the second, because he wouldn't stop fidgeting. Normally, Sirius would have poked fun at him now but he decided against it. 

"Yes, but now they are going to really be married, for real." 

"That tends to happen during a wedding" Remus chuckled and Sirius glared at him. "Sirius, this is not the first marriage among our children." 

"The first two just decided to go down to the ministry and get legally married. There was no wedding." Sirius defended. Remus chuckled, smiling at his husband, and then took his hand. 

"You did fine at our wedding, you'll do just fine at there's." Remus comforted. 

"I'm not worried about messing it up. This just mean our kids have grown up, and they're gonna live in a house, and have kids of their own, and be happy-"

"Isn't that what you want?" 

Sirius turned his head to see Draco, standing in the doorway in his tuxedo, smiling brighter than Sirius may have ever seen him. 

"Of course it's what I want for you, I just wish sometimes all of you were still at Hogwarts, and I wish you had always been mine." He replied, moving towards his son. 

"We've always been your kids dad, even if we didn't know it." Draco told him, and Sirius nodded his head because it was true. Since the first time he saw them, they were all his, and he knew they would be. 

Meanwhile, Elara sat in her room, technically by herself but with her whole family standing behind her. Everyone she had gotten to know five years ago after the war. 

"Are you gonna vomit?" Pansy asked. Elara rolled her eyes and pushed Pansy's shoulder backward. 

"Come on Pans, don't put ideas in my head." Elara muttered, the nerves fully setting in, and she felt like she honestly would vomit any second. 

"I'm kidding El, you'll do just fine." Pansy replied, grabbing her hand. She smiled, and Elara fell into a silence as she looked forwards. 

"I wish all of you could have been here, where everyone can see you."

"They know we're here, and if they don't, you do, and that is all that matters." Lily muttered. 

"Yes, but it would have been nice if Harry could see you, and Dennis could see you guys." Elara told them, turning from James and Lily to Ellen and Sean.

"They will see us, eventually. Until then, they get to live their lives happy." Ellen replied, leaning over and kissing Elara's forehead. Elara smiled and looked at her as she pulled away. 

"It's almost time. If you all don't mind, we'd like some time with Elara?" Lucius asked, Narcissa and Severus standing with him. 

"Of course." Pansy replied. She hugged Elara before disappearing. Sean nodded his head in her direction, smiling, and then he and Ellen disappeared. Lily hugged her, James following, before they grabbed each others hands and followed before the rest. 

Severus was the last of the group. Elara smiled at him and he smiled back, pulling her into a hug, and she squeezed tighter. Then he disappeared and Elara knew he did it so he wouldn't have to say goodbye, because he wanted to be there, they all did. 

Elara some how felt like she was loosing them for good, and she knew she wasn't but the feeling was pulling on her like she couldn't understand. 

"I was nervous when I married your father." Narcissa interrupted Elara's thoughts, pulling her back to reality. 

"Did it go away?" Elara asked in response. Narcissa laughed slightly, looking over at her husband for a moment. 

"Yes, but only after I tripped when I walked down the isle." 

"What? You've never told me that story!" Elara almost shouted, amused. 

"Well I was always quite embarrassed about it and your father promised to never speak of it but I think I should tell you now, not because you will trip, but because after I did, I stayed embarrassed about something that no one remembers but me. The point is, no one will remember anything but how beautiful you look."

Elara wanted to cry and she didn't really know the reason behind it. 

"You promise?" Elara asked. Her mother smiled, then moved a piece of her hair out of her face. 

"I promise with all my heart." He mother promised, before kissing her forehead then turning to Lucius. " I'll leave you two for a moment." 

Lucius nodded his head, kissed his wife, and then watched her disappear.  

"Will you dance with me?" Lucius asked. Elara smiled at him. 

"Of course." Elara answered. He extended her hand and she took it, before he pulled her into him. They swayed back and forth, Elara remembering her 11th birthday gala because that's what this felt like. 

"What else is bothering you?" He asked, and Elara hated that he knew something was wrong because he could always read her, just like her mother could. 

"Are you all coming back? For some reason it feels like the last time I'll see you all." Elara asked in response. Lucius smiled sadly. 

"Of course we are, but we've been coming around less and less because we don't want you attached to all of us. We want you to be living life, not dwelling in death." 

What he said made sense and she knew what he was saying was they were coming back but they didn't know when. When she needed them, really needed them, and no one else could help they would be there but this was it. After this, she would hardly see them. 

So instead of crying, she danced with her father until he pulled away from her and with tears in his eyes, he disappeared.   
________________________________

Elara linked arms with Sirius and smiled. He looked over at her, then looked back forwards. She walked down the outside of the chairs in the left, Ginny walking along the other side with Arthur. The two of them turned and faced each other, walking towards the person they loved. Sirius let go, kissed her forehead, kissed Ginny's then walked away, Arthur doing the same before following him and sitting down next to Molly. 

Elara smiled at Ginny, Ginny smiling back with tears in her eyes. Elara reached her hand up and wiped them away. 

"You've been up here for less than a minute and you're already crying?" Fred teased, and the whole tent of people laughed. 

"I regret asking you to marry us." Elara responded, and everyone laughed again. Fred raised his eyebrows. 

"Wanna find someone else? It seems kind of short notice-" 

Elara his his shoulder jokingly 

"Get on with it." She muttered. Ginny chuckled and Elara smiled back at her. 

"Okay, okay." Fred laughed before smiling at them. "I've been waiting for these two to get married since they became best friends the second they met, 10 years ago, and finally the day is here. When Elara brought me back, both of us are still confused how that happened if I'm being honest, I knew I would be forever grateful to her for bringing me back to my family. When I was younger, and Ginny was born, I knew that no one would ever be good enough for my baby's sister but I was wrong. Elara is, and she always will be." 

Elara smiled at him, almostp in tears, and that was the closest she ever felt to good enough for the perfect woman in front of her. 

"So, am I right in assuming you wrote your own vows?" Fred asked. 

"Yes." Ginny replied, before turning her head back to Elara. "Do you remember the day we first met? It was in my first year, and you're second, and I was being possessed by Tom Riddle. You and I were running in the opposite direction, and we crashed into each other. I went to apologize before I saw who you were, and I was almost cowering in fear but you held your hand out and told me you weren't going to hurt me. You had this look in your eyes, the one that made me trust you, so I grabbed your hand and you walked me to class. That was the start of the end for me. I have woken up, and every day I've been in your arms I have been a better person because of it. You and I were made to crash into each other, to love each other, to be the whole world to each other. There is no one I would ever consider spending my life with, and I'm glad you were insane enough to marry me, because every day is better with you in it." 

Elara smiled through her tears as Ginny placed the ring on her finger. The engagement ring she had been wearing was replaced by Elara's mothers ring, which she had finally gotten to when the manor was emptied and they were able to go look at it. Elara took another deep breath before looking at Ginny. 

"Ginny, love of my life, my whole world, you are everything I could ever wish to have and call mine. I am so thankful that someone as beautiful as you, and someone as good as you loves me enough to marry me." She paused and Ginny wiped a tear off of Elara's cheek. "When I was kidnapped, the only thing that kept me going was the idea of seeing my family again, but towards the end, when I wasn't sure that I was gonna make it out, I started to think of all the things I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you how much you meant to me, and how much I really loved you, because the love I have for you was the kind of love that makes people dizzy. I wanted to tell you that on the first day we met, you should have run away because then you would have been safer but then you wouldn't have been my best friend, and you would be standing here becoming my wife. Without you, I'm not sure I would have defied my family, and Harry and Draco wouldn't be together. You are my world, because you've made my world what it is today and I can never thank you enough for that." 

Elara placed the band on Ginny's finger. 

"Ginny, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, no matter what shit she puts you through?" Fred asked. Ginny laughed. 

"I do." 

"Elara, do you take this-" 

"You don't even have to ask, hell yes I do." 

Everyone in the room laughed, and somehow a weight felt like it was lifted off of Elara's shoulders. 

"Okay then I pronounce you wife and wife. You can kiss now." Fred told them. Elara laughed and pulled Ginny into her, kissing her that way, the dizzy way, and smiling when they pulled back. 

"I love you." Ginny muttered, her forehead against Elara's. 

"I love you more."   
________________________________

"Excuse me! Excuse me!" Draco shouted, gathering the attention of the partying crowd. 

"I wanted to be the first one to make a toast. To my sisters, both of you, blood or not: I am so happy for the two of you. It has been so many years coming for you, always fighting for each other, fighting with each other, fighting to stay together. The love you two have for each other is awe inspiring and I have loved having the privilege of watching you two grow and become a story for the ages. To Ginny: you've been something some, considering myself, would consider and godsend to Elara's life and mine. You have created a beautiful radiance in our lives and forever us to become better people, because you were the glue that kept us from following behind our family. You and Elara's relationship was the reason Harry and I became friends, and now he is the love of my life just as you are to Elara. You are the light of her life, and mine, and without you I don't know where her and I would be." 

He paused for a second, looking at Elara and Ginny, Elara's arm on Ginny's waist. Ginny had tears in her eyes and Elara leaned over to kiss her wife's forehead 

"Now, to Elara, my twin, my sanity: I am so proud of you. You have been so beautifully defiant and you have become a different person than anyone expected. Ginny may have made you better but you changed so many people. The change you implemented in so many people, mirroring the change Ginny implemented in you, created a person anyone would be envious of. You have made the world better, all because you decided that you were gonna be different and you were gonna make other people different too. Thank you for being my rock, and being the only twin that could ever keep me on my feet. I have no idea where I'd be without you, where the wizarding world would be without you. I wish nothing but the best for you and the love of your life, knowing full well that you don't need the wish because there is no other choice for you two other than to have a wonderful life. So, to Elara and Ginny, the couple everyone wishes the could be." 

Everyone in the room raised their glasses towards the two women in white. 

"Elara and Ginny!" They shouted. 

Elara turned her head and kissed her wife, in the moment wondering how she had gotten so lucky as to have this family. 

Dennis approached them, a girl's hand in his, smiling. 

"Mums, the Eveline." He introduced. Elara smiled at her. 

"Wonderful to meet you." Elara smiled to her, extending her hand so the young girl could shake it. 

"It's a pleasure." Ginny continued, a smile also on her face, shaking Eveline's hand. 

"It's an honor to meet you both. Dennis talks about you two often, clearly he admires the both of you." Eveline responded, before turning specifically to Elara. "You saved my life back in the war. I had been injured, and I thought I was gonna die, and I was really scared because I was just a first year, but you can over with Dennis and saved me." 

"I'm glad I could help." Elara smiled, and it was so nice to meet someone she helped because she didn't get to do that too often. She looked up and then made eye contact with a girl smiling, watching her small son on the dance floor. "If you'll excuse me for a moment." 

Elara made her way over to the girl, stopping in front of her. The girl turned to look at her. 

"Oh, Elara, hi. Congratulations." She said, smiling at the newly married woman in front of her. Elara smiled. 

It was hard not to smile today. 

"Thank you Bella. It's nice to see you again, and it's nice to see this little guy." Elara kneeled down and the boy stopped dancing, looking at her. 

"Liam, say hi to Mrs. Weasley." Bella ordered her son. 

"Oh no, you can call me Elara. Mrs, Weasley is much to formal. Elara told him, chuckling at the small boy. He tilted his head. 

"You're the one who helped my daddy." Liam muttered, and Elara couldn't tell if it was a question or a statement. 

"Tried to, yeah." Elara told Liam. 

It was quiet for a second and Elara didn't know what he was gonna do, until he jumped up, wrapping his arms around Elara's neck. Elara smiled and hugged him back. Liam held on for another moment before letting go. 

"Have a nice day Mrs. Elara." He smiled before taking his mum's hand and skipping off towards the food. Bella waved back aged before following her son. 

Ginny rejoined her wife, grabbing her and. Elara turned her head to look at her. 

"I love you." Ginny said. Elara leaned down and kissed her. 

"I love you too."


	26. The end

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elara woke up to Narcissa jumping on her and Ginny's bed, Severus following. Elara opened her eyes. 
> 
> "Lucius is being mean because we can't go to Hogwarts!" Narcissa complained. Elara looked at her daughter, then to her son. 
> 
> "Well then tell Lucius he can't go to Hogwarts either." Elara muttered in response, attempting to pull her blanket over her head, trying to sleep for even three more minutes. 
> 
> "Lucius! Mother says you can't go to Hogwarts because you're being mean!" Severus shouted. Elara groaned while Ginny chuckled next to her. 
> 
> "When Theo came up with a potion so you and I could have kids, he forgot to mention that they would never leave us alone."

Fourteen years later 

Elara woke up to Narcissa jumping on her and Ginny's bed, Severus following. Elara opened her eyes. 

"Lucius is being mean because we can't go to Hogwarts!" Narcissa complained. Elara looked at her daughter, then to her son. 

"Well then tell Lucius he can't go to Hogwarts either." Elara muttered in response, attempting to pull her blanket over her head, trying to sleep for even three more minutes. 

"Lucius! Mother says you can't go to Hogwarts because you're being mean!" Severus shouted. Elara groaned while Ginny chuckled next to her. 

"When Theo came up with a potion so you and I could have kids, he forgot to mention that they would never leave us alone." 

"You were the one who said having twins wouldn't be that hard." Ginny said. Elara looked over at her wife. "Besides, Lucius is pretty good."

"Mother! I can't find my books!" Lucius called out. Elara groaned an Ginny smiled at her. Elara sat up, carefully moved her daughter, kissed Ginny, and then moved towards her son's room to see him panicking. 

"Lucius, baby, why are you panicking?" She asked. He looked at her, a wide eyed look on his face. 

"My books mother. I can't find my books." He replied, looking around. Elara stopped, leaning herself onto the doorframe, and casually pointed her thumb to the stack of books on his desk chair. 

"Those books?" Elara asked. Lucius looked at them and then bit his lip. 

"Yeah. Those ones." He replied, moving towards them and then taking them to his trunk. 

"What's really wrong?" Elara asked him. Lucius stopped moving and then sat down on his bed. Elara followed, sitting next to him. 

"Do you think they're gonna call me by my dead name? What if no one accepts me?" He responded. Elara had known this would have to come up eventually, and he would wonder what going to school would change for his transition. 

"Lucius, no one is going to call you anything but your name. Mcgonnagal and I talked last year, all of the professors know what to call you. You'll be placed in a dorm with one of your cousins, considering you have one in every house and you'll probably have one in each house this year. No one but you, your family, and you're teachers will even know if you don't want anyone else to know. Your name is Lucius Remus Weasley, and it always has been, even if your mum and I didn't always know it." Elara told her son. He nodded his head, tears in his eyes before looking up at Elara. 

"I love you." He told her. Elara leaned down and kissed his forehead. 

"I love you more." 

The transition had been hard on him, but as magical science had been becoming more advanced, and Elara had been doing her research, they had found a way to give him the normal amounts of testosterone for a male, because that's who he was, and his breasts had never even had time to develop before it was stopped in his tracks, also thanks to magic. 

That didn't make they way he felt any easier. He still had a hard time, as expected, feeling like he was still in the wrong body, but he knew his parents were doing anything and everything they could to help him. He always seemed to feel like he was being selfish asking for help though his parents didn't agree. 

Elara had been willing to give her son world, and Ginny felt the same, so the support of his parents and all of his family had made it easier on him.

Besides, he knew all of his teachers, they had been around since he was a child considering he'd spent time with them over breaks and such. They knew who he truly was, Lucius had a feeling everyone had known since he was a toddler. 

"Hey, the kids have to be at their train by 10:00, and you said you wanted to get breakfast so we should probably get going." Ginny said, coming into view of the doorway. Elara nodded her head, kissed Lucius' forehead one more time, and then stood up. 

"Be downstairs with your trunk in five?" She asked him, though they both new it was more of an order. 

"Yeah. I'll be ready."

Elara smiled and departed the room, Lucius still smiling. He moved to his trunk and closed it, knowing if he didn't have anything his mother or mum could just go get it. 

He also knew that having his mom's there with his uncles and Grandfathers would make his whole experience easier and harder at the same time. 

I mean sure, no one would be able to bother him. Sirius and Harry were the ones that worked there as professors, with Remus being the magical creatures keeper, a job made for him because of his understanding of creatures and how much he loved them. Draco lived there at Hogwarts, but as he was the assistant to the Minister of Magic, he left early in the morning after him and Harry got up and returned usually before dinner.

"Lucius! Narcissa! Severus!" Ginny called out from downstairs. 

While the younger two ran down towards the voice of their mum, Lucius walked a bit slower, his trunk wheeling behind him but stopped when he reached the stairs. 

"Want some help?" Elara asked from behind him. He turned to face his mother, who was smiling. 

"Yes please." He responded. Elara waved her hand, and Lucius watched as the trunk began flying slowing down the stairs.

Elara looked over at her son and smiled. Lucius smiled back before grabbing his mothers hand.   

They emerged from the stairs together.

"You ready?" Ginny asked them, the twins trunks floating while Ginny held their hands.

"Yeah." Elara responded moving forward towards her wife. Ginny smiled at her. 

"Can I ride a trunk?" Narcissa asked, letting go of her mums hand and moving towards her trunk. Severus let go of Ginnys hand as well. 

"No! I want to!" He shouted. 

"No way! You rode last time! It's not your turn." Narcissa complained. 

"If you two don't stop then neither is you will ride." Ginny warned. Both stopped and turned to their mum. "Severus, it's your sisters turn and you know it. Narcissa, you can ride Lucius' trunk so I don't have to carry two trunks and you." 

Elara smiled as her daughter ran happily to Lucius trunk and climbed on, giggling as it moved forwards. Severus frowned for a moment before seeing the smile on his sisters face, and then he attempted to hide his smile but Elara saw it. 

The whole family moved out of their larger apartment and onto Diagon Alley. 

When they decided to have another child after Lucius, which had somehow turned into two children, they realized they needed four bedrooms instead of two, they were forced to upsize, Sirius and Remus moving into Lupin's bookshop.

The fact that Elara was rich, and Ginny had become rich from her time with the Hollyhead Harpies, gave them the ability to afford a large apartment right on Diagon Alley 

Not they acted rich, they could have lived in a manor with house elves, having galas and buying anything they wanted but they chose the quaintest life they could have with three kids underage and one over. 

"Mummy, are we still meeting Uncle Draco and uncle Harry at the Leaky Cauldron?" Severus asked, his hand in Ginny's still.  

"That is the plan, yes." Ginny responded, and his face immediately brightened, not for Harry or Draco but for Sirius, their son almost exactly Severus' age. They were best friend, and they went to the same boarding school. 

Narcissa was particularly close to Lily, though they were a few months apart. 

Lucius, Scorpius, and James had been the type best friends everyone was envious of, even before Lucius was called Lucius. They reminded Elara a lot of the Golden Trio, same type of personalities and all. 

James, somehow unknown to all, had become so very much like Ron. He was funny, big-hearted, and loyal to the bone. Most had expected his appearance, almost identical to Harry's down to the glasses, would mean he would be like Harry, but Ron, James, and an hour long game of wizarding chess later gave everyone the personality he really would be. 

Lucius was Harry in every was possible. Independent, brave, and the type who would keep the whole world on his shoulders to protect the ones he loved. When Elara told her son who he reminded her of, his face brightened. It was right after he told her and Ginny that he was a boy, not a girl, and he always had been.  She looked him in the eyes, told him that she had always said he should always be himself, and that wasn't gonna change because he wasn't who she thought he would be, and that she loved him. Then she told him was was so much like Harry. She had never seen him cry that much. 

Then there was Scorpius. Even Rose was less like Hermione. Strong willed, and just as brilliant as Hermione was, if not more. Some would say he was a genius, though he didn't seem to lie the word because it was implying that people were lower than him and he would never think that. 

They were more like the trio than the trio was. 

And when Ginny cane through the door, with Elara following, the kids ran forward towards Harry and Draco's kids. Harry and Draco stood up, as did Ron and Hermione. Their kids were hanging with Theo and Daphne's two kids. They were closer in age, a few years older than the rest. Dennis and Eveline moved as well, Dennis helping his pregnant fiancée stand. 

Everyone hugged and said their hellos. 

"Where are Sirius and Remus?" Ginny asked after a minute. 

"Here! Here!" Sirius cried, running into the Leaky Couldron out of breath. Elara smiled at her dad, then watched as her father sauntered in, smirking at his husband. 

"I told him not to run, we would only be five minutes late. He insisted we go to he book shop down here, then got lost in the books." 

Elara chuckled and then pulled Sirius in for a hug, then Remus. 

Everyone ate breakfast together for the last time until Christmas, and it was perfect.  
________________________________

All of the younger ones had been dropped off at the earlier train before everyone made their way over to the Hogwarts express. The parents who didn't work at the school said their goodbyes and watched their kids make their way onto the trains and the others said their goodbyes before flooing, knowing they will see them in a few hours. 

Elara and Ginny settled in, Ginny talking excitedly about being able to show off Lucius, Scorpius, and James' quittitch skills this year. She loved being the new coach, and she was amazing at it. 

Her and Elara sat next to each other during the feast, as they had for the past four years of them both working there. 

The first years made their way to the stool and listened to the hat, just as everyone before them had, and Elara smiled at the looks of her son and nephew's faces. Sure, they had been here before but they hadn't been here for this, as students. 

They all listened patiently as the students names were called out, anticipation of what houses their kids will be in clear on their face. 

Harry sat next to Elara, and when she looked at him she knew he didn't care what houses his kids were in because he loved them and she felt the same. 

Finally, the first one of the three. 

"James Potter!" 

Harry almost sat forward in his seat, but Elara knew where he would go, where they would all go. 

"HUFFLEPUFF!" 

Elara knew it, and James smiled because that was really where he had wanted to be, where he knew he belonged. 

"Scorpius Potter!" 

He walked up the the school, and he almost looked like he was more anxious of any of them. He sat down and the hat stayed on his head for a moment. 

"RAVENCLAW!" 

Scorpius moved off of the stool and turned to his dad, a look of fear on his face. He almost looked afraid of what had just been called but when Harry smiled at him, the look of admiration clear on his lips, Scorpius seemed to relax. It was clear his father was proud of him, 

No matter what house he was in. 

There were a few names inbetween that Elara practically ignore before her son was called. 

"Lucius Weasley." 

Lucius was already smiling, and Elara knew he would be happy at Hogwarts no matter what house he was in. He sat down on the stool and looked out to the large group of people, knowing he was the last first year to be placed. The hat was placed on his head, and it was there for just a moment. 

"SLYTHERIN!" 

Elara couldn't stop smiling as he walked to the table, Astoria Nott, the first born to Theo and Daphne, giving him a high five as he sat down. 

The three boys looked at each other, knowing that even though they weren't together, they would always be together. 

Always.


End file.
